Daily Archives: February 20, 2009

ADF President Alan Sears authored law recommended by pornography commission under U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III

Chicago Sun-Times: Americans named President Obama as their No. 1 hero, followed by Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King, in a new Harris poll. Others in the top 10, in descending order, were Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Abraham Lincoln, …

KDKA.com: “U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter was greeted with jeers at a press conference in Cranberry Township. Conservatives are fuming after Specter cast the deciding vote that led to the passage of President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan . . . “

Lambda Legal: “The Michigan State Court of Appeals yesterday held that a Michigan family court cannot refuse to hear a child custody case simply because it involves children whose parents are lesbians, ruling that there is no gay exception to …

Baptist Press: “Pennsylvania is the most pro-life state in the country, while California is the least, according to the 2009 rankings by Americans United for Life (AUL). . . . ” AUL press release: Pennsylvania Most Pro-Life State in America, …

AP: “George Mason University senior Ryan Allen dresses in drag and doesn’t mind being called a queen – homecoming queen, to be exact. Allen, who is gay and performs in drag at nightclubs in the region, said he entered the …

TheDestinLog.com: Less than a month after Destin amended its adult-entertainment ordinances, the city is preparing for a do-over, City Manager Greg Kisela says. Not because there’s a problem with the new rules, Kisela said, but because Terry Stephenson, who’s suing …

LibraryJounal.com: Vote, 5-3,  goes against director’s recommendation Lawsuit possible Mixed public reaction In a 5-3 vote that contradicted the recommendation of the library director, Gina Millsap, and has drawn warnings of a lawsuit, the board of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library …

The University Bookman: The University Bookman is pleased to present this exclusive online interview with M. Edward Whelan III, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Whelan, a lawyer and a former law clerk to …

Lambda Legal: “Lambda Legal and local attorney David Gespass represent CAP in their lawsuit against Mayor Langford for refusing to allow city workers to attach Pride banners on city poles. CAP has held a gay pride parade through the streets …

AP: “The California fertility doctor who implanted the octuplet mom with lots of embryos was no lone wolf: Fewer than 20 percent of U.S. clinics follow professional guidelines on how many embryos should be used for younger women . . …

David Gushee has this commentary at the Associated Baptist Press discussing recent news reports that raise serious questions about in vitro fertilization. He concludes: Meanwhile, Christian ethics has work to do. While Roman Catholic ethics officially has rejected any technological …

. . . the 6th Circuit sitting en banc has upheld § 2257 of the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 . . . which requires porn producers to create and maintain” records relating to their depictions . . .

Maggie Gallagher writes at Yahoo News: Is abstinence “realistic”? According to a rash of headlines, Gov. Sarah Palin‘s 18-year-old daughter, Bristol Palin, says “no.” Thus (the media gleefully report) the young thing repudiates her famous mother’s conservative values while speaking …

Liz Peek writes at the Women on the Web site that stock markets are responding very negatively to actions by the Obama Administration. She writes: The White House scramble has led to creeping fear that we’re dealing with the Junior …

Washington Post via AZ Central: So Carrico, who now represents Grayson County as a member of the House of Delegates, said he felt he had to act after Virginia State Police chaplains were ordered last summer to give only generic …

Dallas Voice: “Openly gay U.S. Rep. Jared Polis has set some ambitious goals for his first term in Congress, including passage of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and the addition of domestic partner benefits …

“A Utah state senator was kicked off a judicial committee he chaired on Friday after comparing gay activists to radical Muslims.”

AP: “Same-sex couples could form domestic partnerships and receive dozens of the same legal benefits as married people under a proposal by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.”

Times Online: “Abuses of women’s reproductive rights, some of which break China’s own laws, are provoking outrage as Chinese public opinion wakes up to the persistence of forced abortion, compulsory sterilisation and even infanticide . . . “

Fox News: “Lawmakers from both political parties are fighting to maintain anti-abortion measures called riders that are added to spending bills to prevent taxpayer money from being spent on funding abortions in the U.S. or abroad.”

Michael Foust writes at Baptist Press: With the Senate in recess until Monday, pro-family groups are ratcheting up their opposition to Department of Justice nominee David Ogden, whose previous legal representation of pornographers and opposition to some child porn laws …

The Ninth Circuit has struck down a California law that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

Florida Family Action via RedCounty.org: Florida’s leading gay activist organization, Equality Florida, along with other liberal and homosexual advocacy groups, are strongly lobbying Governor Crist against appointing Judge Alan Lawson, who most conservatives believe is the most qualified candidate. These …

Citizen Link: Three states voted in November to define marriage in their constitutions as the union of one man and one woman. But family advocates have had little time to celebrate. Across the nation, a new wave of legislation is …

National Right Life to News with Views: Since 2007 National Right to Life Committee has been the home of the most rigorous and comprehensive pro-life training available. Termed by some as a “pro-life educational boot camp,” the curriculum of the …

AP: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has sued on behalf of a man whose company name — ‘I Choose Hell Productions’ — was rejected by the state.” Related: Producer Says Pennsylvania Business Name Statute Violates 1st Amendment

“. . . a student at Landscore Primary School in Crediton, upset a classmate by telling her that she would ‘go to hell; if she did not believe in God and Jesus . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “In McCollum v. State of California, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11154 (ND CA, Feb. 13, 2009), a California federal district court held that a volunteer Wiccan prison chaplain lacks both traditional standing and taxpayer standing to bring …

Rasmussen has issued a survey of public opinion on the Supreme Court and its effect on the Presidential election. Does Barack Obama believe Supreme Court justices should decide cases based on what’s written in the Constitution and legal precedents or …

Honolulu Advertiser: “Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday nominated Mark Recktenwald, chief judge on the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court . . .”

The Blog of Legal Times: “The American Bar Association wants back inside the process for vetting nominees to the federal judiciary, and it says the White House is at least listening . . . Republicans had criticized the ABA as …

ADF attorney Gary McCaleb appeared on the Don Kroah Show to discuss judicial and Department of Justice nominations. The mp3 file runs just over 11 minutes.

AP: “The nation’s largest Lutheran denomination will consider allowing individual congregations to choose whether to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, an attempt to avoid the sort of infighting that has threatened to tear other …

The Hawaii Legislature will not take up a proposal to allow assisted suicides in the state.

AP: “U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the debate with China over human rights, Taiwan and Tibet cannot be allowed to interfere with attempts to reach consensus on other broader issues.”

The Founders forbade pornography not only because it subverts virtue, but because it attacks the political foundations of society . . . Chastity is not only a moral virtue; it is also indispensable to political order. [...]

Maureen Dowry writes at the Atlanta Journal Constitution: Despite his influence in the state Senate, Republican Eric Johnson of Savannah lacks the statewide name recognition to clinch the lieutenant governorship next year. So, rather than resort to billboards or ads …

Kelly D. Calcott writes at Law.com: Tools and Tactics to Tweet Well on Twitter: In an earlier “Technology Today” column I wrote about the benefits of using newsreaders to stay abreast of multiple blogs. I pointed out that newsreaders — …

Rush Limbaugh writes at the Wall Street Journal: Dear President Obama: I have a straightforward question, which I hope you will answer in a straightforward way: Is it your intention to censor talk radio through a variety of contrivances, such …

Daily Mail: “Some Islamic schools are promoting fundamentalist views and encouraging children to despise Western society, a report warns. An investigation by the Civitas social policy think-tank found websites of some of the UK’s 166 Muslim schools are spreading extreme …

AP: “Spain is on course to ease its restrictive law on abortion, setting the stage for another clash between a Socialist government that has already introduced sweeping social changes and conservatives and Catholic clergy bent on preserving traditional family values.”

“Transhumanism does not say that we will create posthumans, rather, it makes a moral claim: we ought to create posthumans.”

Business & Media Institute: Although a spokesman for President Barack Obama said the administration wouldn’t pursue the revival of the Fairness Doctrine, Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, S.C., wants Senate Democrats to go on the record one way or another on …

National Law Journal: Is justice for sale? There is a strong relationship between campaign contributions and decisions by state Supreme Court judges in states that elect those judges, a recent study finds. Although they caution that their sample is small, …

NewsTalk 1410 AM: “There’s help out there, if the La Crosse city council wants it. The Alliance Defense Fund is offering legal assistance to the council if it needs it to fight the Freedom from Religion Foundation over prayers before …