Daily Archives: February 27, 2009

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) will sponsor TransAction Day in schools across the nation Friday to promote transgenderism and “gender non-conforming” behavior.

The Government is attacking civil liberty by attempting to remove a free speech protection from a law on ‘inciting homophobic hatred’, says a new report.

The Obama administration moved on Friday to undo a last-minute Bush administration rule granting broad protections to health workers who refuse to take part in abortions or provide other health care that goes against their consciences.

School voucher programs improve academic achievement in public schools, according to a new study by Greg Forster, Ph.D., of the Freidman Foundation for Education Choice.

After a personal call from Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, members of the Leatherby family donated $20,000 in support of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that upheld marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Since then, Leatherby’s Family Creamery has faced a boycott, picketing, harassing phone calls and e-mails, obscene Valentine’s Day cards, and threats of physical violence to its employees.

Thursday afternoon, surrounded by numerous lawmakers, Gov. Palin stood in support of house and senate proposals that would require minors to receive parental consent to have an abortion.

Joe Lieberman wants the federal courts to explain why its online database still charges 8 cents a page for court documents, and why many of those documents still contain Social Security numbers and other sensitive information.

Those states that do consume the most porn tend to be more conservative and religious than states with lower levels of consumption, the study finds.

Drawn by payments of up to $10,000, an increasing number of women are offering to sell their eggs at U.S. fertility clinics as a way to make money amid the financial crisis.

Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who favors “gay marriage” and has pledged to sign a bill legalizing it, is running for re-election. His possible Republican challenger, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, opposes “gay marriage” and has pledged to veto such a bill.

In stark contrast to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s softer remarks on China’s human rights, the US State Department report reveals sharp criticism of the eastern superpower over rights violations ranging from religious repression to extrajudicial killings.

Alliance Defense Fund President, CEO, and General Counsel Alan Sears praised Focus on the Family founder and ADF co-founder Dr. James Dobson for his “tireless service” to American families upon learning of his resignation as chairman of the Focus on the Family board of directors.

Equality Utah, fresh off a series of Capitol Hill defeats, on Wednesday rolled out a post-Legislature agenda for the ongoing battle over gay rights.

Is the Obama White House vetting prayers? Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News and World Report reports that this represents a “new tradition” established by the administration of President Barack Obama. As Gilgoff revealed, “In a departure from previous presidents, his public rallies are opening with invocations that have been commissioned and vetted by the White House.”

A Washington group has filed a complaint with the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee against Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback.

In an exceptional insight into the behind-the-scenes mechanisms employed by state officials to restrict disfavoured religious communities, a regional governor has ordered the seizure of a Pentecostal church’s land by “any” means, Forum 18 New Service has learnt.

The Legislature will not take action in response to a December ruling that terminally ill patients have a constitutional right to pursue life-ending treatment from physicians in Montana.

The practice of opening some Dodge County Board meetings with invocations, a practice Freedom From Religion Foundation alleges has been unconstitutional because past prayers have evoked Jesus Christ, will be discussed Monday at an executive committee meeting.

This narrow background is unprecedented. We now have eight justices who can sing the Harvard or Yale fight songs, but not one who has ever shaken hands with a voter, introduced a bill in a legislature or decided whether to veto a piece of legislation.

PGD gets you more control. That’s what makes it such a blessing when you’re trying not to pass on a fatal disease: You don’t have to accept the guesswork of “Well, I’m asymptomatic, and so is my husband, so the odds are that our child won’t get it.” But that’s also what makes it troubling when you’re aiming for aesthetic traits: It eliminates novelty and surprise (Jeremy’s beef), and it lowers the threshold for discarding embryos as unfit (my beef). Using sperm from a blond donor doesn’t guarantee you a blond kid. But in theory, if you screen your embryos for hair-color genes, you can eliminate all the brunettes. The good and bad effects of increased precision go hand in hand.

Millions of Americans lead openly gay lives and hardly think being gay is a stain on their reputations. Why should courts rule otherwise? And shouldn’t gay rights groups, which have largely ignored these lawsuits, instead put pressure on plaintiffs like Cruise, Farah, and Stern to drop them?

A bipartisan group of 180 House representatives sent a letter to Democratic leaders Wednesday requesting the renewal of so-called congressional “riders” that prevent taxpayer funding of abortion and embryo experimentation.

The 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will meet next week at the United Nations (UN) to discuss this year’s theme, “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care-giving in the context of HIV/AIDS.” Pro-life and pro-family non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are concerned that, as usually happens, the two-week gathering will be used to advance a pro-abortion agenda.

Judge Glenn Berman, in Superior Court, New Brunswick ruled Wednesday, Feb. 25 that Sayreville was within its rights to close XXXV Gentlemen’s Club because it is a sexually-oriented business operating within 1,000 feet of a public park or homes, in this case both, said an attorney for the borough.

A report that some local students are using cell phones for “sexting” purposes has prompted the Board of Education to call for a change in district policy.

It’s enough to make you blush: Some politicians want a bigger taste of the economy’s naughty side, pushing for special taxes on dirty magazines, racy movies, sex toys and strip clubs.

“. . . James Dobson has resigned as chairman of Focus on the Family but will continue to play a prominent role at the organization he founded more than three decades ago . . . ”

ACLU: ”Several of the nation’s top non-profit humanitarian and philanthropic organizations told a federal court today that the government’s authority and conduct in freezing a charity’s assets undermines critical humanitarian aid and the government’s own anti-terrorism efforts. Grantmakers Without Borders, OMB …

On Wednesday, the 9th Circuit upheld Jerry Levis Banks’ conviction for “the possession, production, transportation, and receipt of images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.” At issue on appeal was (1) the district court’s denial of Banks’ motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a warrant issued based on testimony from “a Canadian pedophile” with whom Banks had traded pornography; (2) the admission of evidence from Banks’ wife; and (3) the denial of Banks’ motion to suppress the court’s applications of the definitions of “masturbation” and “lascivious.”

Student Press Law Center: The Student Press Law Center, a national non-profit devoted to defending student journalists’ First Amendment rights, filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging a federal appeals court to clarify that schools cannot discipline students for criticizing their …

Committe on the Judiciary / Presidential Nomination Status Search Attorney General: Eric H. Holder Jr. – Confirmed on February 2, 2009 Deputy Attorney General: David W. Ogden – With a 14-5 vote on the 26th, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent …

Chicago Tribune: A Detroit federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan’s ban on slot machines at horse tracks. A 2004 vote to amend the Michigan Constitution and permit three casinos in Detroit barred introduction of slot machines …

LifeSiteNews: “The Maryland House of Delegates has unanimously approved a proposal to require ‘parental consent’ for tattoos and body piercings done on minors. However, the state still only requires that one parent be notified that a minor is going to …

LifeNews: “The Utah state Senate approved a House-passed bill to create a legal defense fund in anticipation of an eventual attempt to ban abortions . . . The Utah House voted 47-16 for the bill earlier this month and the …

Religion Clause Blog reports: “Suburban Chicago Daily Herald reported yesterday that the Illinois Attorney General’s office will file an appeal to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Sherman v. Township High School District 214, (ND IL, Jan. 21, …

Religion Clause Blog: “President Obama yesterday released his budget proposals in a 140-page document titled A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise. One provision is controversial among non-profit groups, including a number of religious organizations.”

Boston Globe: “Only about 70 people have been formally nominated to fill the roughly 500 senior posts in the Defense, State, Treasury, and Education departments and dozens of other government agencies, according to White House records. Dozens of nominations are …

CNSNews: “The Senate passed a Broadcaster Freedom Amendment to a D.C. voting rights bill on Thursday by a vote of 87-11. But Democrats countered with an amendment that seeks to promote ‘diversity’ in media ownership.”

FRC Washington Update: “Maryland’s state legislature is now considering bills that would extend ‘non-discrimination’ protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations to transsexuals, transvestites, and other cross-dressers. The expansive definition of ‘gender identity’ in the bill would allow people to …

The National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University, Robert Bifulco, Helen F. Ladd, and Stephen Ross, Occasional Paper No. 172: School choice proponents argue that choice could lead to school integration by freeing families to …

Liberty Counsel: “Today Liberty Counsel filed suit at the Florida Supreme Court to make The Florida Bar remain neutral in the homosexual adoption controversy. The First Amendment requires that the mandatory bar association remain neutral on controversial or political issues …

National Right to Life Today’s News & Views: “Feminists believe in equal representation of women in the professions, among them business, the academy and government. The termination of a woman from a professional position, because she is a woman, is …

Life News: The White House quietly announced on Friday that President Barack Obama is starting the process of overturning protections President Bush put in place to make sure medical staff and centers are not forced to do abortions. The move …

AP: “Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday Supreme Court justices shouldn’t take their judicial oaths at the White House, calling it “incorrect symbolism” for an independent branch of government.”

“Lopsided vote likely the result of church pressure, concerns of same-sex marriage”

The FBI has charged four people with violating assisted suicide bans in numerous states after a sting operation determined an assisted suicide ring killed one or more people. An undercover FBI agent posed as a member of the Final Exit euthanasia group that is apparently responsible for the deaths.

Assemblywoman Pat Eddington (D-Medford) is introducing legislation that would require law enforcement to treat any crime committed by a man against a woman as a potential hate crime.