Daily Archives: December 2, 2008

CBS: What happened between 2006, when Proposition 107 was narrowly rejected, and 2008, when Proposition 102 breezed through? . . . Cathi Herrod, president of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy, told me the length and complexity of the ballot …

Jan LaRue writes at the Culture and Media Institute: “Intimidation litigation is what’s happening to privately owned businesses, especially Christian-owned businesses, churches, and para-church organizations when state anti-discrimination laws, which were meant to end discrimination based on immutable characteristics like …

ABA Journal: “A group advocating for atheists rights will file suit today against Kentucky’s Office of Homeland Security because state law requires the agency to stress ‘dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.’”

WorldNetDaily reports: A woman is suing the university where she worked for firing her over a privately written newspaper commentary expressing her Christian views on homosexuality. Crystal Dixon, the former associate vice president of human resources at the University of …

(Warning: the story carries a photo of the billboard) Newsday: In the hopes of coming up with a plan to do something about the Platinum Club’s sign, New York City council member James J. Sanders (D- Queens) and Nassau Legis. …

Fox News: Moments ago we spoke to Ambassador Mark Lagon, Secretary of State Rice’s global advisor for fighting human trafficking . . . VAN SUSTEREN: I was reading some of your materials–across borders over 800,000 people a year or more. …

Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom 1 South 6th Street Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510 PRESS RELEASE Tuesday, December 2, 2008 Contact: James Bopp, Jr. Phone 812/232-2434; Fax 812/235-3685; jboppjr@aol.com Kansas District Court Finds Judges May Solicit Money On Monday, November 24, the …

CNA reports: “Following the recent electoral victory of a marriage amendment proposed for the Florida constitution, homosexual activists plan to demonstrate outside the church wedding and reception of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist next Friday.” The governor supported passage of the …

The NJ Law Journal reports (subscription access only): Two decades ago, a surrogate-pregnancy arrangement that went awry put New Jersey in the spotlight, as its courts were forced to fashion a legal framework for an increasingly prevalent practice nationwide. The …

CNA: “In one of the largest protests to be held in Vietnam in decades, more than 5,000 people gathered in a candlelight vigil on Sunday evening at Saigon Redemptorist Monastery to demonstrate support for eight Catholics who will be put …

The AP: A judge Monday refused to dismiss reckless homicide charges against parents accused of praying instead of seeking a doctor’s care as their 11-year-old daughter died of untreated diabetes. Marathon County Circuit Judge Vincent Howard rejected arguments that prosecuting …

Casino Watch Focus reports:”CNN is reporting Pinnacle Entertainment is looking to move their President Casino to a new spot on the Mississippi river, and they will likely see little resistance from the MGC.  The President has been in financial trouble …

ABA Journal reports: “Republican Sen. Arlen Specter says Eric Holder’s role in a controversial pardon will be a “big question” at his confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general.”

MaineToday.com reports: The Maine Civil Liberties Union has hired two new staffers who will expand the organization’s work in the areas of legislative policy and marriage equality, the group announced today.

The Miami Herald: “U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2010, closing a chapter in an extraordinary success story of an empty-handed Cuban refugee and setting off a free-for-all over his open seat.”

The AP reports: Georgia voters returned to the polls Tuesday to decide one of two unresolved U.S. Senate races that Democrats need to win for a 60-seat majority impervious to GOP filibusters. Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss faces Democrat Jim …

OneNewsNow.com reports: “Today the state of Georgia will hold a critical runoff that could move Democrats closer to a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate. Incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss finds himself in a runoff with Democratic challenger Jim Martin after …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: A group of University of Calgary professors have issued a statement, published in the Calgary Herald today, condemning the U of C’s heavy-handed and intimidating “overreaction” to the Campus Pro-Life Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) display. . . . …

LifeSitenews.com reports: “Last week, Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon appointed Warwick Marsh of the Fatherhood Foundation as one of six men’s health ambassadors who were charged with the task of building a federal men’s health policy, in part to address …

Illya Somin has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy: “University of San Diego lawprof Michael Rappaport has a thoughtful response to my post arguing that pro-gay marriage court decisions advance gay rights despite the fact that they have inspired a …

David Savage writes on the LA Times: “The Bush administration plans a new ‘right of conscience’ rule that would allow more workers to refuse more procedures. Critics say it could apply to artificial insemination and birth control.” Related: Matt Bowman: …

ADF attorney Heather Hacker appeared on KFUO radio with Paul Clayton to discuss Yuba College’s censorship of a student attempting to share his faith. The mp3 file runs just over 9 minutes. Related ADF press releases: Yuba College: ‘Free speech’ …

The Times of India: British men and women are the world’s most promiscuous people, leaving their American cousins far behind, according to a study. Germans come next with the Dutch, Czechs, Australians, Americans and French ranking third, fourth, fifth, sixth …

LifeNews.com reports: “Catholic bishop in Virginia says he would urge Catholic hospitals to ignore the so-called Freedom of Choice Act if Barack Obama signs it into law. The FOCA bill has been the subject of controversy because it could force …

Newsweek reports: “Fully one quarter of employees who use the Internet visit porn sites during the workday, according to October figures from Nielsen Online; that’s up from 23 percent a year ago. And hits are highest during office hours than …

CWNews.com reports: The Vatican has scheduled news conferences on consecutive days, December 11 and 12, to unveil a new teaching document on bioethics and the Pope’s annual message for the World Day of Peace. The document on bioethical questions, entitled …

CWNews reports: “Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s permanent observer at the United Nations, has criticized a proposed UN declaration, backed by all 27 European Union nations, to condemn discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” CWNews links to …

The New Zealand Herald: “Women who have an abortion are more likely to suffer subsequent poor mental health, according to a new survey . . . the findings have implications for the legal status of abortion in New Zealand where …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “The Czech cabinet has passed a controversial bill that would allow Czech doctors to kill the unborn children of EU residents from other countries with more restrictive abortion laws . . . “

GetReligion.org has this post discussing the politics associated with The Freedom of Choice Act and the danger it poses for Democrats.

LifeSiteNews.com reports: The EU’s patent office has ruled that under the provisions of the European Patent Convention (EPC), it cannot offer a patent for the so-called “WARF/Thomson stem cell application” on the grounds that it would involve the destruction of …

Robert Meyer writes at LifeNews.com: “For some reason, probably strategic and, in order to play on emotion, the argument is usually presented as a false dilemma: Some are for stem-cell research, while some others are against it. I have seen …

Asra Q. Nomani, a Muslim, writes in the LA Times: Indeed, the government report I read about in the newspapers two years ago acknowledged that Muslims in India had become “backward.” “Fearing for their security,” the report said, “Muslims are …

Religion Clause Blog: In India, at least one Muslim cemetery is refusing to bury the bodies of the slain Mumbai terrorists. Yesterday’s London Times reports that the Jama Masjid Trust said it will not bury the men in its Badakabrastan …

OneNewsNow.com reports: ” . . . 80 percent of West Virginians do not want a court making same-sex marriage legal in West Virginia.” The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is currently urging pastors to sign an online letter to …

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “In People v. Rubin, (CA Ct. App., Dec. 1, 2008), a California state appellate court upheld a defendant’s conviction for selling marijuana and possessing it for sale. The court rejected his argument that the Free …

Religion Clause Blog reports: In Burchett v. Bromps, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96920 (ED WA, Nov. 20, 2008), a Washington federal district court rejected a free exercise challenge to the conditions of his community release brought by a pedophile sex …

The Pacific Justice Institute reports: Advocates for religious liberty are dismayed that, once again, recognition of the upcoming Christmas holiday is being discouraged and even banned by some government officials and employers . . . We’ve received reports that children …

The Seattle Times reports: In the latest round of what’s become almost a winter tradition — conflicts over religious symbols in public places — a group of atheists and agnostics have put up a sign in the state Capitol that …

The LA Times: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the new Legislature in to work on its first day, declaring a fiscal emergency Monday in response to the state’s deteriorating finances and urging lawmakers to “get off of their rigid ideologies.” . …

The ABA Journal carries this report that begins: On our second annual list of the best legal blogs, just half of last year’s honorees make a return appearance . . . This year, blogs that aren’t updated at least weekly—no …

The Wall Street Journal carries this article by Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. They write: As governors and citizens, we’ve grown increasingly concerned over the past weeks as Washington has thrown bailout after …

The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy has issued this press release: A series of pivotal rulings by courts and regulatory changes by the Bush Administration have opened the door more widely to government partnerships with faith-based organizations, but …

Florida Catholic reports: More than two years after her ignominious death at an abortion clinic, baby Shanice Denise Osbourne was laid to rest at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale . . . Williams, 18 at the …

Reuters: “Spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web makes children more prone to a range of health problems including obesity and smoking, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. U.S. National Institutes of Health, Yale …

The Guardian reports: Pupils starting primary school increasingly need to be taught to speak because they have heard little language at home beyond the “daily grunt” from their parents, according to the report . . . Research shows that success …

Mark simpson writes in the Guardian: Gay marriage is being presented by many gay people and liberals on both sides of the Atlantic as the touchstone of gay equality . . . But not all gay people agree. This one …

Jonah Goldberg writes in the LA Times: . . . At a pro-gay-marriage rally in Los Angeles after the vote, chants of “Mormon scum!” were reported. Envelopes containing white powder have been sent to Mormon temples in California and Utah; …

The U.S. Constitution allows each congressional chamber to be the “Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.”

Monogamy, this ruling suggests, long a foundation of Western civilization, is silently eroding under the challenge of Islamic law. Should current trends continue, polygamy could soon be commonplace . . .

Overall, 30 percent of students admitted to stealing from a store within the past year . . . An overwhelming majority, 83 percent . . . admitted to lying to their parents about something significant . . . 64 percent . . . had cheated on a test . . .