Daily Archives: January 28, 2009

The HRC Back Story Blog summarizes and links to the report.

GreenvilleOnline.com: “Women seeking an abortion in South Carolina would have to wait at least 24 hours after their ultrasound under a bill given initial approval Wednesday by a House subcommittee. The measure would increase the waiting time from an hour …

Tampabays10.com: “Just before 5 a.m., Tampa fire rescue responded to an automatic fire alarm at the Platinum Showgirls Club at 4009 W ML King Blvd . . . “

AP: “A woman is taking another shot at opening a strip club near Fremont. Jamie Nielsen wants to open a club in a vacant building that was the former TJ’s Lounge on U.S. Highway 30 in Ames. That’s beyond the …

Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, on Tuesday fired off a letter to the NSF’s inspector general requesting all documents related to the “numerous reports” and seven investigations into “Abuse of NSF IT Resources” cited in the foundation’s 68-page semiannual report.

Christianity Today: . . . When Richard John Neuhaus died January 8, Prison Fellowship’s Charles Colson didn’t just lose a friend of 25 years. He also lost his partner in convening Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Since its first publication in …

The Chareleston Gazette: “Although proposed legislation to authorize a state-issued “In God We Trust” license plate may generate heated debate, the state Division of Motor Vehicles has no restrictions on religious messages on vanity plates . . . “

The potential swing vote on the committee is state Sen. Robert Bunda, D-22nd (North Shore, Wahiawa), who has opposed same-sex marriage in the past but said he will keep an open mind on civil unions . . .

AP: “Iceland’s next leader will be an openly gay former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organizer into a decades-long political career . . . “

In Europe, where citizens lack the protection of a First Amendment, hate crime legislation is used to punish citizens for the expression of negative opinions concerning minority groups. In Europe the concept of hate crimes make sense because hate crimes are crimes of opinion and sentiment. Unlike America, Europe criminalizes opinions and sentiments. However, in the United States, with its First Amendment, it is difficult to see what purpose hate crime legislation can serve. The Matthew Shepard Act contains a “Rule of Construction” explicitly stating that “Nothing in this Act… shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

The East Valley Tribune: A new initiative drive seeks to provide gay Arizonans, denied the right to marry, an alternate option. The proposal filed Tuesday with the Secretary of State’s Office would create “civil partnerships.” . . . Cathi Herrod, …

Twenty-two year old Natalie Dylan, who has been making headlines for auctioning off her virginity, has this post on AlterNet.  She recently earned her Bachelor’s degree in “Women’s Studies” and writes: I recently received my highest bid so far: a …

WorldNetDaily: A woman arrested at the Cairo airport because her identity card described her as a Christian has been threatened for her faith by the judge in her case, according to a new report. Makkar, formerly known as Zainab Said …

LifeNews: “On Wednesday, members of the U.S. Senate defeated an amendment sponsored by pro-life members to restore the Mexico City Policy that President Barack Obama rescinded last week. The policy prevents taxpayers from funding groups like Planned Parenthood that promote …

The ABA Journal reports: “. . . The lawyer for the girls, Kirk Hanson, vowed to appeal. He told the newspaper the ruling allowed private schools to discriminate as long as they cited religious beliefs as the reason.” The Religion …

The ABA Journal reports: “The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Eric Holder to become attorney general. The vote was 17-2, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. A full Senate vote could come as early as …

Robert Peters of Morality in Media has published this six page paper discussing the Social Costs of Pornography. Warning the paper contains a frank discussion of the topic and is not suitable for all audiences.

LifeSiteNews carries this commentary by Bishop Robert J. Hermann of St. Louis. It includes these excerpts: . . . Yes, we can thank one-half of our Catholics for bailing out on their faith!  After almost 50 years of having 50 …

LifeSiteNews: “The Spanish Supreme Court has been deadlocked for two days over whether or not to permit parents to remove their children from a government civics program that indoctrinates students with homosexual ideology . . .”

Fox News: “Far from rolling over, House Republican leaders are trying to win concessions from President Obama over the massive economic stimulus package and have proffered a bill of their own to put on the negotiating table. The counter-package would …

LifeSiteNews: The leader of Portugal’s ruling Socialist Party, Jose Socrates, has announced his support for homosexual “marriage,” sparking controversy and protest throughout the country and within the Socialist Party (PS) itself . . . The Secretary of the Catholic Episcopal …

Congressman Phil Gingrey, MD (R-GA) has issued this statement in response to a Politico report that portrayed him as telling Rush Limbaugh to “back off.” The statement begins: Because of the high volume of phone calls and correspondence received by …

Drudge Report: “Democrats may have eliminated provisions on birth control and sod for the National Mall in the “job stimulus” — but buried on page 147 of the bill is stimulation for prevention of sexually transmitted diseases! . . . …

CNSNews: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched an online petition for readers to express their outrage at conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for saying last week that he wanted President Barack Obama to fail . . . On …

“The collateral damage from this is worse than anyone expects,” said Dr. William Evans . . . Julaine Appling of the Wisconsin Family Council called the groups an “unprecedented coalition” that is “determined . . . that such a plan will not happen . . .

Liberty Counsel has issued this press release on the Standard Newswire that begins: Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Child Evangelism Fellowship of Georgia (CEF) against Cobb County School District, which has a discriminatory policy against religious …

The Religion Clause Blog: “Among the many items in the proposed economic stimulus bill, HR 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is a provision for funding of $100 million for grants to faith-based organization through the Compassion …

Guardian: Officers will not actively target members of the public to track down those who own violent pornography banned under a new law, police chiefs admitted yesterday. The law, which comes into effect today, was passed in response to a …

The Blog of the Legal Times: “The eight most recent solicitors general — including immediate predecessors Gregory Garre and Paul Clement — have joined in a letter giving strong backing to Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan, President Obama’s pick …

How Appealing reports on the ruling: Maloney v. Cuomo, No. 07-0581 (2nd Cir. Jan 28, 2009).

Fulton County Daily Report: “After three consecutive years of raising associate pay, many of Atlanta’s big firms have slammed on the brakes. Some have reduced or deferred annual raises, while others have frozen associates’ base compensation at 2008 levels as …

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman will be available for media interviews Wednesday following a hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Brown v. City of Pittsburgh. ADF attorneys are representing a nurse who is challenging a Pittsburgh ordinance that prohibits speech in specified zones outside abortion clinics.

“We see this as a dangerous trend in which the people of New York are being forced to recognize — and subsidize — all kinds of out-of-state unions which their legislature has not chosen to recognize,” Alliance Defense Fund attorney Jim Campbell said . . .

AP on the Seattle Times: “Washington state would offer same-sex couples all the rights and benefits given to heterosexual married couples under a measure that was introduced Tuesday in the Legislature . . . ” GayPolitics.com: Out Washington legislators introduce …

One News Now: A lesbian couple is taking an adoption case to West Virginia’s Supreme Court. A 14-month-old girl was temporarily placed in foster care with two lesbians after her mother’s parental rights were terminated because of substance abuse problems, …

Medical News Today: Attorneys representing three antiabortion medical groups — the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, the Catholic Medical Association and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists — on Wednesday filed motions in the U.S. District Court in …

Citizen Link: More than 2,000 government employees involved in foreign policy are calling on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to provide benefits to same-sex partners, The Washington Post reported . . . Jim Campbell, litigation counsel for the Alliance Defense …

WorldNetDaily: A college’s ban on free speech – except for two selected hours per week – has been eliminated in a settlement with the Alliance Defense Fund, which took up the cause on behalf of a student threatened with arrest …

Business and Media Institute: Is the new Obama administration taking cues from the Bush administration to get Congress to act? It certainly seemed that way to, South Carolina’s junior Republican senator, Jim DeMint. DeMint, speaking Jan. 27 at The Heritage …

Politico: Rush Limbaugh may command a large following, but his caustic comments Monday about the GOP’s congressional leadership have at least one Republican House member defending his colleagues  . . . Asked to respond to Gingrey, Limbaugh, in an email to Politico, …

Over the backdrop of the Megan Williams case, this comment highlights some of the universal difficulties state prosecutors have in pursuing hate crimes. The analysis considers the tangential implications that failure to prosecute hate crimes has on society, the potentially curative effect of passing proposed federal legislation, and the necessity of overlaying restorative justice to both heal damage from and decrease incidents of hate crimes.

To address the question of whether the Federal Communications Commission has overstepped its regulatory authority, Part II of this article will present a quick history of broadcast media, starting with the first radio signals, continuing on to the creation of the television and television networks, and concluding with the creation of the Federal Communications Commission. With this historical background in place, the reader should be able to more easily understand the climate in which the Commission was established, the Commission’s purpose, and the source of the Commission’s power to regulate the electromagnetic spectrum and broadcast media. In Part III, the article will examine the Commission by looking at its regulatory authority, regulations, and regulatory enforcement practices. Then, in Part IV, the article will attempt to establish whether the Federal Communications Commission has overstepped its regulatory authority and, in laymen’s terms, determine whether the Federal Communications Commission continues to make sense.

This Comment examines the potential consequences of the 2007 PPA to the fundamental rights of American citizens should state courts decide the question of the constitutionality of the pledge differently. When state courts declare “under God” either constitutional or unconstitutional, the state courts are also assigning fundamental rights relative to the phrase “under God.” A state court declaring the phrase constitutional simultaneously declares that “under God” is expression protected by the First Amendment’s fundamental right to free speech. By contrast, a court that finds the phrase “under God” unconstitutional declares that the fundamental right to the free exercise of religion will not be burdened by the governmentally-sanctioned recitations encouraging monotheistic religion. If the courts decide the constitutionality question differently, the result will be the collective assignment of equal, yet contradictory, fundamental rights to the same speech: “under God.”

Samuel J. Levine, Teaching Jewish Law in American Law Schools: An Emerging Development in Law and Religion (1999). Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4, 1999. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1333860 In recent years, religion has gained an increasing prominence …