Daily Archives: April 30, 2009

One News Now: “The rule, which takes effect May 1, means that any NPR stations carrying religious programming must cease and desist that programming as of that date.”

Tennessee News Platoon: “As a result of her presentations, other agencies and departments of the state began to reject diplomas issued to homeschoolers when a high school diploma was required by law for certain regulated categories of employmen.”

Joan Frawley Desmond has post this commentary on National Review that begins: “Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the House Foreign Affairs Committee to talk about Iran, but wound up defending the Obama administration’s promotion of abortion rights abroad.”

Newsbusters: “Yet, rather than directing any real outrage at Planned Parenthood for concealing the despicable crimes of statutory rape and child abuse, the Times seemed more perturbed at the “conservative” personalities behind Rose and her efforts . . . David French, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund … appeared at [Rose's] side during an interview with conservative TV talk-show host Bill O’Reilly . . . ”

Notre Dame has issued this press release that begins: “Judge John T. Noonan Jr., the 1984 recipient of the Laetare Medal, has accepted an invitation to deliver an address in the spirit of the award at Notre Dame’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony on May 17. His speech will be in lieu of awarding the medal this year . . . Since Judge Noonan is a previous winner of the Laetare Medal, we have decided, upon reflection, to not award the medal this year.”

See also: Beckwith: Don’t Replace Glendon

Leonard Link: “. . . the Colorado legislature and Governor Bill Ritter have enacted the Colorado Designated Beneficiary Agreement Act, HB 09-1260, which will provide a legal status accompanied by a list of legal rights and benefits for unmarried couples (both same-sex and different-sex). The measure, which adds a new Article 22 to Title 15 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, takes effect on July 1, 2009.”

The Arizona Daily Star: “A man was injured early Wednesday in a shooting outside of a Midtown strip club. No arrests have been made in the incident, which was reported around 2:40 a.m. Police were called to the Bunny Ranch at 3650 E. Speedway where a fight broke out as people were leaving the establishment, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.”

Alliance for School Choice: “If passed, a new school choice proposal would, in just five years, save Indiana taxpayers millions of dollars annually, according to a report released today by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and cosponsored by the Alliance for School Choice and School Choice Indiana . . . To learn more about the study and the proposed new law, visit www.INscholarships.org.”

Christian Today: “CLAAS is calling on the Pakistani Government to ban forced conversions after a group of Muslim men raped a 14-year-old Christian girl and forced her to convert to Islam.”

Christian Post: “The United Methodist Church’s top court recently ruled that clergy, both active and retired, cannot perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. Performing such services is ‘a chargeable offense,’ Bishop Beverly J. Shamana ruled last Friday. UMC’s Judicial Council affirmed her decision.”

Christian Newswire: “On Friday, May 1, 12 Noon, protests will occur on Notre Dame campus while ND Board of Fellows and Board of Trustees meet. At least one dozen pro-life activists will push baby carriages holding dolls covered with stage blood to father Jenkins office during the lunch hour on May 1.”

ADF attorney Mike Johnson appeared on the Michael Medved show to discuss school choice. The mp3 runs just under 35 minutes.

Online Casino Advisory: “Officials from the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division have commanded Internet service providers to block almost 200 online gambling sites.”

The Leaf Chronicle: “A Clarksville woman was arrested and charged with operating an adult oriented business without a license. Christina Marie Honeycutt, 43, who gave a 4497 Cumberland City Road address was cited on misdemeanor charges of license to operate-required, simple possession and unlawful drug paraphernalia charges.”

ACLU press release: “An Ohio federal court will hear arguments tomorrow, May 1 in Toledo in a case challenging the government’s authority to freeze an Ohio-based charity’s assets and designate it as a terrorist without due process.”

Donna Walters writes at the Missouri Lawyers Media posted on the ACLJ site: “A St. Charles pharmacist says Target fired her four years ago because she said she would not fill prescriptions for emergency contraception or refer customers to another pharmacist. Heather Williams filed a lawsuit in the St. Louis-based U.S. District Court last week against the corporation.”

“. . . an amendment to require a statewide referendum on the matter was rejected, 22-13. Then the Senate registered its support for the original measure again, this time by 21-14.”

The Mercury: “On Wednesday, the ACLU filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania, charges the township violated the rights of Shenkel United Church of Christ in refusing to let it allow the homeless from the area to stay overnight for one month in the church as part of the Ministries on Main Street program.”

AP: “Dozens of out-of-state same-sex couples have flocked to Iowa since it legalized gay marriage.”

The Washington Post has this editorial calling for the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen to head the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel.

“I was crying ‘I don’t want to do this’,” said a young woman called Xiao Hong, who was pregnant with four-month-old twins. ‘But they still dragged me in and injected my belly with a needle,’ the 20-year-old told Reuters of her ordeal which happened in late February.’

LifeNews: “HB 3318 would reduce the crime of infanticide from capital murder to a state jail felony and the measure could receive a vote soon in the Texas House of Representatives.”

AFP: “South Korea on Wednesday conditionally lifted a ban on stem cell research using human eggs, three years after outlawing the practice because a scientist was found to have faked his work.”

Quinnipiac University National Poll: “The ban on openly gay men and women in the military should be repealed, American voters say 56 – 37 percent, including 50 – 43 percent among voters with family in the military, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. American voters who think being gay is an individual’s choice, 36 percent, are generally less supportive of gay rights than those who think people are born gay, 42 percent.”

Detroit Free Press (AP): “A global children’s rights treaty, ratified by every United Nations member except the United States and Somalia, has so alarmed its American critics, led by a Michigan congressman, that some are now pushing to add a parental rights amendment to the Constitution as a buffer against it.”

Keith Eddings interviews Maggie Gallagher in The Journal News..

“Clinton’s linkage of family planning with abortion is not just a severe break with the previous administration; it is a clear violation of the Cairo Program for Action, which her husband’s government helped to negotiate in 1994. The Cairo document explicitly states in two places that abortion should in no case ‘be promoted as a method of family planning.’”

The Tennessean: “The American Civil Liberties Union will wait another week before deciding whether to sue Metro Nashville schools for blocking access to nonsexual Web sites about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.”

CNSNews: “An international Islamic body has appointed a committee of six religious scholars to study one of the most contentious issues in Islam today – whether ‘apostates’ should face the death penalty.”

CNSNews: “I want you to know I am going to keep fighting for a reversal of that HHS provider-refusal regulation,” Murray said. “It’s so important. It’s so short-sighted. You know, when we have 45 million Americans who are underserved and women and families are already struggling to access basic health care, it’s just wrong to make access to health care even more difficult,” she added.

LifeSiteNews: “This morning the first 300,000 names of individuals who signed the petition at NotreDameScandal.com – opposing the University of Notre Dame’s decision to honor President Barack Obama at this year’s commencement – began to be delivered to Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Board of Trustees and the Board of Fellows as they prepare for scheduled meetings on Friday, May 1, at Notre Dame.”

ADF attorney Joel Oster appeared on the Jody Hice Show to discuss the case of a Kansas pastor who was arrested for sharing his faith on a public sidewalk during an event celebrating homosexual behavior. The mp3 runs just under 14 minutes.

Related ADF press release: Pastor prevails in Wichita

CNSNews: “President Barack Obama says a bill eliminating state restrictions on abortion will take a back seat to other challenges facing the country.”

William E. May writes at the Culture of Life Foundation: “Genital union between unmarried men and women does not, in truth, unite two irreplaceable and non-substitutable persons, because unmarried men and women are unmarried precisely because they have refused to ‘give’ themselves unconditionally to each other and to make each other irreplaceable and non-substitutable in their lives. Such genital union simply joins two individuals who are in principle replaceable, substitutable, disposable and in no way unites two irreplaceable and non-substitutable, non-disposable persons. Such union is unworthy of human persons made in the image and likeness of God and called to give themselves away to others in love, in the sincere gift of themselves.”

The National Law Journal: “Misdemeanor courts are a waste of time and money. So claims the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which on Tuesday issued a first-of-its-kind national report on the status of misdemeanor courts across the country. The report, which involved 18 months’ worth of research at courts in seven states, concluded that state and local governments are wasting millions of tax dollars to prosecute petty offenses . . . Courts are also violating the constitutional rights of citizens who are being hauled into court, the report claims, and often coerced into cutting deals without legal representation.”

Christian Examiner: “‘Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for holding to their beliefs,’ said ADF Senior Counsel David French. ‘When a public university has a prerequisite of affirming homosexual behavior as morally good in order to obtain a degree, the school is stepping over the legal line. Julea did the responsible thing and followed her supervising professor’s advice to have the client referred to a counselor who did not have a conscience issue with the very matter to be discussed in counseling.’”

OneNewsNow: “‘The family, the Elscheidt family, believe that this was contrary to their faith,’ says Kiska. ‘They did a lot of research on the governing law in Europe as well as international law coming from the United Nations documents, and they determined that since this was so contrary to their faith and that it would do damage to their ability as parents to raise their children according to that faith, that they would teach their child at home on this issue and only this issue.’”

America has its own madrasses—secular madrassas of multiculturalism and sustainability. We call them public schools . . .

The Republican: “One of the changes in the proposed revision to the city zoning code could jeopardize the future of the Mardi Gras and other strip clubs, officials said. The change may trigger a state law which could require strip club owners obtain special permits from the City Council, lawyers and other officials told councilors on Monday.”

West Virginia Record: “Prominent Charleston lawyer Scott Segal wants a circuit judge disqualified from hearing a lawsuit brought against him by a man who says a conspiracy based on faith has kept him from practicing law in West Virginia.”

“The state Supreme Court left intact Wednesday a lower-court ruling that said a private religious high school wasn’t covered by California civil rights law and could expel students it believed were lesbians.”

The Religion Clause Blog: “It is designed to place a new equality duty on public bodies, and to consolidate nine existing anti-discrimination laws into one Equality Bill.”

One News Now: “Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have filed suit against the city of Pensacola. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Faustina Old Catholic Church. Daniel Blomberg is an Alliance Defense Fund attorney. ”

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on three nominees (webcast of hearing) . . . the most controversial of the nominations is that of David Hamilton . . . ”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have offered to defend the Orange County Board of Supervisors pro bono in the event it faces any threats of legal action by Planned Parenthood or similar pro-abortion groups over a new policy the board passed Tuesday restricting certain county funds from being used for abortions.

AP: “Carrie Prejean told NBC’s ‘Today’ show Thursday that she’ll be working with the National Organization for Marriage to ‘protect traditional marriages.’”

AP: “Declines in Israel, Italy and Taiwan illustrate that established democracies with traditional open media are not immune to restricting freedom,” said Arch Puddington, research director for Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that plans to release the report on Friday in advance of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

One News Now: Roger Kiska, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund’s European office, explains the Elscheidt’s situation. “The family, the Elscheidt family, believe that this was contrary to their faith,” says Kiska. “They did a lot of research on the governing law in Europe as well as international law coming from the United Nations documents, and they determined that since this was so contrary to their faith and that it would do damage to their ability as parents to raise their children according to that faith, that they would teach their child at home on this issue and only this issue.”

Tulsa Beacon: “Freedom of speech is alive again on the campus of The City College of San Francisco thanks to the Alliance Defense Fund. The college arrested an employee of Jews for Jesus, an evangelistic group, for handing out literature (Gospel tracts) on campus ‘without a permit.’ . . . It’s a good thing America has a group like the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Travelers RM Plus Online: A senior systems engineer filed a lawsuit against his former employer claiming that the employer’s mandatory diversity training course violated his civil rights. The man claims his religion teaches that homosexuality is a sin and that he was terminated for objecting to training that encouraged acceptance of homosexuals. ‘Former Rockwell Collins Employee Sues Company,’ KCRG.com (May 18, 2008). The former employee alleges he was fired because of his religious beliefs and that he suffered loss of pay and benefits as well as emotional distress . . . ”

Complaint filed by the Rutherford Institute: Meeker v. Rockwell, No. 1:08-cv-59 (N.D. Iowa ____)

SSRN: “In Gonzales v. Carhart, 127 S. Ct. 1610 (2007), the Court reversed course from Stenberg v. Carhart, a decision issued just seven years before and, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, upheld the ‘Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003′ (‘the Act’). The question for advocates after Carhart v. Gonzales is how to prevent the case from being extended by those intent on Roe’s destruction. This paper argues that we must start by illuminating the decision’s limitations, and by recognizing and appealing to the aspect of Justice Kennedy that remains a moderating influence on the other four in his Carhart majority.”

Brigham Young University Law Review: “Deliberative constitutionalists propose an account of democracy combining the principles of constitutionalism with those of deliberative democracy, but they have not adequately considered whether deliberative and constitutional ideals are logically compatible. This Article explains how these rival conceptions of democracy can be reconciled.”

< ahref="http://ssrn.com/abstract=1395676">Notre Dame Legal Studies: “Catholic elementary schools, and particularly those located in inner cities, are a type of land use that provides positive external effects to their neighborhoods. We will make the theoretical case for the importance of parochial schools not just for the students in them, or even for their families, but for the broader communities. We will show the connection between these theoretical predictions, which draw on the social capital and urban planning literatures, and real neighborhoods in Chicago.”

Yale Law Journal: “This Essay maintains that, for the United States, the U.S. Constitution is always supreme over international law. To the extent that the regime of international law yields determinate commands in conflict with the Constitution’s commands or assignments of power, international law is, precisely to that extent, unconstitutional. Further, the force of treaties (and executive agreements) to which the U.S. is a party is always subject to the constitutional powers of Congress and the President to supersede or override them as a matter of U.S. domestic law.”