Daily Archives: January 14, 2009

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: “San Francisco will try to collect up to $15 million in taxes from the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which is refusing to pay certain taxes on properties the church is transferring from one Catholic nonprofit …

Maine Gov. Baldacci’s statement: “I’m not prepared to say I support gay marriage today, but I will consider what I hear as the Legislature works to find the best way to address discrimination.”

GayPolitics.com provides an excerpt from the transcript of Hillary Clinton’s recent confirmation hearing for Secretary of State. It includes these excerpts: FEINGOLD: . . . Will you support changes to existing personnel policy in order to ensure that LGBT staff …

Findlaw reports: Only one letter removed from the innocuous “texting” everyone is familiar with, the word “sexting” has been popping up in various news stories lately. In its various forms, sexting is the transmission of suggestive material via text messages …

Thomas More Society reports on the Christian Newswire: “On Wednesday, January 14, the Chicago-based Thomas More Society . . .  will argue before the Federal Seventh Circuit, along with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Solicitor General, to defend Illinois’ long …

In 36 years, 50,000,000 children have died as a result of legalized abortion in the United States. There is no visible monument capable of handling the scope of these deaths. Georgia Right to Life wants to correct this injustice . . .

ACLJ: “We have entered our formal appearance before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a major case against Planned Parenthood. As I’m sure you’ve seen in the news over the past several months, there have been …

Michael Foust reports in the Baptist Press: “In what likely will only add to the confusion over President-elect Obama’s position on the issue, recently recovered documents show that he supported the legalization of ‘gay marriage’ when running for Illinois state …

AP: “Minnesota’s disputed Senate election would extend well into February and probably beyond if a three-judge panel hearing a lawsuit by Republican Norm Coleman adopts his proposed trial schedule . . . Minnesota’s disputed Senate election would extend well into …

KLTV.com reports: “Their first day just wrapped up, but the state legislature is already looking at two proposed bills on abortion. The first proposed bill aims at making a specialty ‘choose life’ license plate available to Texas drivers. The other bill, if …

The Catholic Review Online reports: . . . The [Rome] conference Jan. 13 marked the 25th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the Holy See. It was the last of a series of five encounters sponsored …

The AP reports: . . . States are trying to balance their budgets by raising taxes, chopping programs and cutting spending in 2009. And some economists and lawmakers worry those steps could undercut Obama’s efforts to stimulate the economy . …

Thomas M. Messner and Jennifer A. Marshall write in Heritage Foundation Special Report #46: I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. —Barack Obama, Saddleback Presidential Candidates Forum, August 17, 2008 I do not support …

LifeSiteNews reports: The leadership of Mexico’s socialist Social Democratic Party (PSD) has issued a demand to Mexico City’s Cardinal Archbishop Norberto Rivera that he and the Church stop opposing its initiatives to legalize abortion, homosexual “marriage” and euthanasia, or face …

LifeNews.com: With Democrats taking over the state Senate following the 2008 elections, the safety net pro-life advocates had to stop a radical pro-abortion bill is gone. Now, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says he will push a legislative measure that …

Medindia reports: Adult entertainment powerhouse Pink Visual saw visits to its mobile video service soar after Christmas as people turned on new iPhones and tapped into porn . . . “The way people get their porn is changing,” Pink distribution …

“On Wednesday, the battle over whether to allow crèches in schools will go to City Hall, as opponents of the Education Department’s policy try to persuade members of the City Council’s education committee to support an effort to overturn the ban on nativity scenes.”

First, we said IVF embryos weren’t pregnancies. That’s technically correct: Pregnancy begins when the embryo implants in the womb. Then we called early embryos “pre-embryos” so we could dismantle them to get stem cells. That was technically incorrect, but we did it because it made us feel better. Now we’re adjusting the word “conception.”

Eugene Volokh has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy discussing bias against homeschooling and favoritism toward public schools in child custody rulings.

AP:  “Holland Township Police Sgt. John Harris says workers from the state Division of Youth and Family Services on Tuesday removed 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell and his younger sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell from their …

ADF submitted a legal memo to the EU urging it to vote against a resolution introduced by a communist. The resolution promotes same-sex “partnerships,” abortion, and censorship of moral expressions on homosexual behavior.

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Monday signed a repressive new Religion Law according to reports by the Press Association and by Forum 18. The law streamlines government control over religion by banning private religious schools …

AP: A federal appeals court reinstated West Virginia’s video lottery advertising restrictions Tuesday, ruling that the state has a legitimate interest in raising money without contributing to compulsive gambling. A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court …

Beverly Eakman has this commentary on NewswithViews.com that begins: Deep down, most Americans once thought they were immune from blatant propaganda, government-sanctioned media-bias and psychiatric hospitals-cum-prisons — hallmarks of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich and Josef Stalin’s Communism. Such confidence is …

AP: Saudi Arabia’s most senior cleric was quoted Wednesday as saying it is permissible for 10-year-old girls to marry and those who think they’re too young are doing the girls an injustice. The mufti’s comments showed the conservative clergy’s opposition …

Citizen Link reports: . . . according to government-supported research at the Heritage Foundation, one thing is clear: Teens who abstain from sex share some characteristics. The National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health identified eight personality and behavioral traits that …

MLive.com reports: The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan alleges that South Haven Public Schools officials have allowed a lunchroom volunteer to promote religious activities to pupils during school hours . . . In a letter to Black, ACLU counsel …

BBC: A Labour MP has claimed dyslexia is a myth invented by education chiefs to cover up poor teaching . . . “If dyslexia really existed then countries as diverse as Nicaragua and South Korea would not have been able …

Technology can play a helpful role, but there is no one technological solution or specific combination of technological solutions to the problem of online safety for minors. Instead, a combination of technologies, in concert with parental oversight . . .

NY Law Journal reports: “Jonathan Lippman, the seasoned administrative judge who has been presiding justice of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, 1st Department, since 2007, was tapped Tuesday by New York Gov. David A. Paterson to become the state’s …

The Pacific Justice Institute has issued this press release: The Pacific Justice Institute today filed its second legal brief in support of Proposition 8 as the California Supreme Court prepares to hear a new round of arguments for and against …

KATC.com reports: Supporters of teaching alternatives to evolution in Louisiana public school science classes convinced a state education panel Tuesday to forego a specific ban on the teaching of scientific creationism and intelligent design, two theories that have already been …

“I call on all Americans to reflect on the great blessing of religious liberty, endeavor to preserve this freedom for future generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate events and activities.”

How Appealing links to several reports and the DOJ report: An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring and Other Improper Personnel Actions in the Civil Rights Division. Washington Post: William Jordan, an attorney for Schlozman, blasted Justice Department watchdogs for …

“President Obama will end the 15-year-old ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said . . .”

OneNewsNow.com reports: . . . Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries was using a local public library room for a meeting — which included a Bible message and prayer — until library officials threw them out. Alliance Defense Fund attorney Tim Chandler …

The Chicago Tribune reports: “The American Family Association of Michigan submitted petitions with about 1,600 signatures seeking the law’s repeal. If officials found at least 1,273 signatures valid, the commission would have had to rescind the law or put it …

This Article makes the case for a discursive turn in European law. Contrary to the prevailing view, politicizing the judicial discourse of the European Court of Justice would strengthen, more than undermine, the Court’s authority. This argument is made with reference to the ECJ’s reason giving practice, specifically to the relation between the form and content of its decisions. Allowing its members to write separate opinions will enable the Court to redefine its role on the European institutional and political stages The Article then answers doctrinal, institutional and juriscultural objections to its central thesis.

This paper is based on my brief remarks on a panel dedicated to “reimagining the relationship between religion and law” and focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court’s church and state jurisprudence. In particular, I ask whether an approach to the Establishment Clause known as accommodation is consonant with the larger concept of pluralism, particularly in the context of public religious symbols and displays, and offer some proposals and tentative conclusions.

The Court’s decisions on whether and when to review these more politically charged cases thus have significant ramifications for the Court and for the country’s social agenda . . .

Using the dispute between the native tribes of northern Arizona and the federal government over the development of the Peaks, this article will demonstrate how the Supreme Court’s decision in Smith, as well as the subsequent activities of courts and legislative bodies, has disrupted well-settled law and has created a quagmire of confusion related to religious freedom.

This Article examines the free speech implications of funeral protest statutes. Enacted in response to the Westboro Baptist Church, whose members protest at funerals to spread their anti-gay message, such statutes restrict a broad array of peaceful expressive activity. This Article focuses on the states’ interest underlying these statutes–protecting mourners’ right to be free from unwanted intrusions while at funeral services.