Daily Archives: June 29, 2009

Zoe Ortiz reports at NewsBusters: “Frank Lombard is an associate director at Duke University’s Global Health Institute and a homosexual who was charged last week with the molestation of his adopted 5-year-old black son and actively trying to sell him for sex on the internet.”

AP: “Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is denouncing vandals who defaced many of the gay pride posters installed at the agency’s Washington headquarters.”

ADF attorney Tim Chandler appeared on KIRO FM to discuss the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case of Truth v. Kent School District. Click here for more information.

The mp3 audio link is here.

Bernell Christensen writes at CANDEO: “How does pornography viewing alter the physical and chemical structure of the brain? How does addiction circuitry develop in the brain and why does it have such a radical impact on human behavior? Once this addiction circuitry is formed, how does one shrink this circuitry, build new healthy circuitry and return to healthy behaviors? The ability to overcome addiction is built into the very structure of the brain itself. It simply requires an understanding of how the brain works and how to harness and direct its power for change.”

Washington Blade: “City Commissioner David Anderson says an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people will be approved Monday night, perhaps unanimously.”

Christian Telegraph: “Thousands of women marched in Coimbatore, southern India this week to protest the practice of sex-selective abortion.”

KTVZ.com: “A man claiming to have a gun held up a northeast Bend adult store late Friday night, then ran, but police recognized his description and soon found and arrested a transient in an abandoned vehicle, officers said.”

Boston Herald: “Rhode Island seems almost certain to remain the only New England state that does not recognize gay marriage after measures legalizing same-sex unions stalled just before the part-time General Assembly ended the bulk of its annual work.”

“The use of terms like ‘moral,’ ‘spiritual,’ ‘virtue,’ or ‘soul,’ can create uneasiness in those who prefer to conceive of politics only in secular and mundane ways.”

“The bill could have a negative impact on pregnancy centers that use ultrasounds to help women considering abortion.”

LifeNews: “Having an abortion doubles the risk of having a premature birth in a subsequent pregnancy — that is the conclusion of a European researcher at a medical conference.”

Eugene Volokh has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy addressing a situation where CPS was apparently contacted to investigate the exorcism of a “homosexual demon” from a Connecticut teenager.

YouTube carres the video of the exorcism here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9v2uk99o2E

See also: “Homosexuals defame black church for exercising religious liberty”

Antara News reports: “The abortion rate in Indonesia reaches around 2-2.6 million annually, or 43 abortions per 100 pregnancies, Dr Titik Kuntari, a lecturer at the medical faculty of the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) said.”

St. Louis Business Journal: “A Massachusetts Catholic hospital chain has backed out of a joint venture with a Centene Corp. subsidiary after facing criticism about a how the Catholic-affiliated venture would handle contraception, abortions and other family planning services that the Catholic Church is against.”

LifeNews reports: “‘The life and health of women, especially minors, is more important than the political agenda of pro-abortion activist groups,’ [Matt Bowman] said. ‘Minors are least of all in a position to make an informed decision about the life or death of a child, or even about their own safety. It is a lie that over-the-counter sales of this drug increase safety for women, including minors.’”

Tracie Dungan reports at Northwest Arkansas News: “The University of Arkansas System’s three largest campuses have resurrected an effort to extend employee health insurance benefits to domestic partners and other nontraditional families.”

J. Michael Smith, HSLDA president, writing in the Washington Times: “While other European countries have not embraced the German methods, there is a move in some countries to crack down on homeschoolers. For example, in Sweden, the government released a suggestion on June 15 that all schools, including homeschools, must provide an education that is acceptable to all pupils regardless of religious or philosophical beliefs, or the beliefs of the parents.”

ABA Journal: “The red light on Camilla Taylor’s office phone is blinking; she has a voice mail. As lead counsel for one of the country’s most prominent gay rights cases, Taylor’s mystery caller could be anyone—one of the world’s most prominent social scientists or a volun teer leading an equal rights discussion in a small-town church basement.”

Frank Rich writes at NY Times: “Action would be even better. It’s a press cliché that “gay supporters” are disappointed with Obama, but we should all be. Gay Americans aren’t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who …

LifeSiteNews: “Louisiana lawmakers Wednesday approved a law affirming the conscience rights of both private and public healthcare workers in the state who object to performing abortion or physician-assisted suicide, or administering abortifacient drugs.”

NY Daily News: “Gov. Paterson – who remains hopeful the state will pass a pending same-sex marriage bill – marched as grand marshal of the parade alongside Christine Quinn, the first openly gay Council speaker. ‘Let’s hear it for pride, everyone!’ Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) shouted into a megaphone along the Fifth Ave. parade route.”

Allan Johnson and Mike Wagner report in The Columbus Dispatch: “Pimps and their recruiters target girls in schools and shopping malls, on Internet sites and college campuses and elsewhere. They trick or coerce them into prostitution. The U.S. Department of State estimates that 15,000 to 18,000 women and girls are trafficked in the U.S. each year. Up to 300,000 may be at risk because they live in poverty, have a family history of abuse or are vulnerable for other reasons.”

LifeSiteNews: “Abortion proponents are reacting with fury after Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) filed an amendment this month to the President’s healthcare reform package authorizing the institution of an Office of Unborn Children’s Health.”

Catholic Culture: “The Archdiocese of Boston has withdrawn from a controversial state contract, just days before the contract would have taken effect. The archdiocese announced on June 26 that the Caritas Christi health agency would not go forward with plans to enter a partnership that would have provided a broad range of state-subsidized medical services, because of concerns about involvement in abortion and other immoral practices.”

CNSNews: “California lawmakers are pushing a bill to authorize an official day in honor of the late-homosexual activist Harvey Milk. The bill would require California’s public schools to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises” on Harvey Milk Day, which conservative activists see as a means to promote a homosexual agenda to a captive audience in the classroom.”

The BBC reports: “Liam Gibson of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said the law in Northern Ireland ‘not only safeguards the lives of unborn children but also protects women from the terrible damage which abortion can cause. By issuing guidance that distorts the law, the department of health has created a grave threat to unborn children, to the safety of women and to the rights of medical professionals.’”

Steve Doughty reports in the Daily Mail: “The tribunals, working mainly from mosques, settle financial and family disputes according to religious principles. They lay down judgments which can be given full legal status if approved in national law courts. However, they operate behind doors that are closed to independent observers and their decisions are likely to be unfair to women and backed by intimidation, a report by independent think-tank Civitas said.”

Kathie Basset reports in The Telegraph: “‘Any image of someone under 18 is illegal to possess,’ [said Sgt. Dave Vucich of the Madison County Sheriff's Department]. ‘The person who has taken the photo, even if it’s of themselves, is involved in the possession and manufacturing of child pornography. If the image is sent, then he or she is also involved in the distribution.’”

James Poulos, doctoral candidate in Government at Georgetown and blogger at First Things, writes at AFF Doublethink: “Alas, ours is not the most sexually transgressive age by far, though it is assuredly one of the more permissive and remissive. . . . Even in its details, we have extremely vague sexual politics.”

Sam Dolnick reports in the Washington Post (AP): “Hundreds of gay rights supporters waved flags and danced past traffic during marches through three Indian cities Sunday to celebrate gay pride and call for the decriminalization of homosexuality in this deeply conservative country.”

Chelsea Kopta reports at KEPTR TV: “State supreme Court Justices are considering whether it is constitutional for public libraries to refuse to disable their Internet filters for adults who want access to sites that have been blocked. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing the North Central Regional Library District (NCRL) for refusing to unblock legal sites like You Tube and a magazine site about women and guns.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Speaking at the conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Saturday, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. said briefs before the high court are running too long, while the justices themselves …

Houston Chronicle (AP): “The ACLU says it has received complaints that Gideon Bibles were distributed in Navasota schools and that teachers displayed crosses.”

Related:

ACLU checks schools, religious freedom violations

Religion Clause Blog: “In a 6-1 decision Thursday, Canada’s Supreme Court upheld Manitoba’s law that allows a court to order medical treatment for a child under 16 that it considers to be in the child’s best interest, despite the child’s religious objections. In A.C. v. Director of Child and Family Services, (Can. Sup. Ct., June 26, 2009) . . . ”

Religion Clause: AveWatch earlier this month reported on the unusual defense mounted by Ave Maria University in a lawsuit against it by a law professor Stephen Safranek whose tenure and employment were terminate

Detroit Free Press: “AshleyMadison — named after two of the most popular baby names for girls — was born in 2001. And if the site’s growing popularity offers a clue, the Michigan economy’s swoon means boom times for infidelity. In Michigan, the site has grown from 38,000 members as of June 1, 2008, to 110,000 twelve months later.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys together with attorney Charles Holster of Mineola have filed a motion to intervene to challenge a federal court order that requires the Food and Drug Administration to allow the Plan B drug, which many doctors believe can cause an abortion, to be sold over the counter to minors.

Matt Barber writes at One News Now: “In general court-martial orders dated March 14, 1778, Washington, through his designs, addressed the disposition of a homosexual soldier ‘tried for attempting to commit sodomy’: ‘[We] do sentence him to be dismiss’d [from] the service with infamy. His Excellency the Commander in Chief approves the sentence and with abhorrence and detestation of such infamous crimes orders Lieutt. Enslin to be drummed out of camp tomorrow morning by all the drummers and fifers in the Army never to return.’”

The Telegraph reports: “[Google CEO Eric Schmidt] said that attempts by governments to block web access were ultimately futile, and do not succeed in isolating citizens either from unfiltered news, or the ability to spread information. ‘We explain if they do this [block freedom of speech and communication] what will happen. Sometimes they moderate their behaviour and sometimes not. If they don’t listen to us it is at their peril,’ he told advertisers at a summit in Cannes.”

“The Supreme Court has failed to decide on whether a scathing documentary about Hillary Rodham Clinton that was shown during the presidential race should be regulated as if it were a campaign ad.”

AP: “Asked to identify where older and younger people differ most, 47 percent said social values and morality.”

Miriam Rozen writes at the Texas Law (Law.com): “At the State Bar of Texas annual meeting, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner discussed how to persuade judges with the written word and in oral argument. Garner, a Texas lawyer and president of a consulting firm teaching advocacy, is co-author with Scalia of ‘Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges,’ published last year.”

OneNewsNow: “‘We’ve already heard reports that a group is going to basically work to intimidate voters, to keep them from signing that petition — basically a left-wing group that wants to see same-sex “marriage” happen,’ he explains . . . ‘If they face threats or are intimidated or are blocked in any way from circulating those petitions, they should give us a ring [at 800-655-6592],’ McCaleb suggests.”

Christian Examiner: ‘One person’s agenda shouldn’t diminish the sacrifice made by America’s veterans and families,’ said ADF Legal Counsel Tim Chandler. ‘Americans want these memorials to be protected. What is more important: the feelings of a single ‘offended’ person or honoring the memory of thousands of American heroes in a way that has been considered constitutional throughout our nation’s history? If the Mojave cross is not allowed to stand, then numerous other veterans’ memorials are vulnerable to legal attack.’”

OneNewsNow reports: There was speculation in the press that Apple withdrew it, although there has been no confirmation. Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, has the latest word. ‘It seems that things are a little clearer. The application developer apparently changed the application to include pornography after the application was approved by Apple,’ he explains. ‘That’s the story in some reports, and that’s the inside story that I got from an Apple employee.’”

The Advocate reports: ” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown have declined to defend Prop. 8 in federal court, leaving its likely defense in the hands of conservative legal groups like the Alliance Defense Fund, which has filed papers asking a federal judge to allow it to intervene.”

The Blog of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia has this post discussing the situation and linking to several news reports.

David Ingram writes at the National Law Journal: “Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., worked behind the scenes on Supreme Court nominations for much of the last three decades, as an adviser and chief of staff to then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. Biden, for part of that time, organized the confirmation process as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Now, as Biden’s successor and a member of the Judiciary Committee, Kaufman will have the chance to question and vote on a nominee when the Senate weighs in on Judge Sonia Sotomayor.”

AP: “The Supreme Court is intervening in a child custody dispute between a Texas mother and a British father that tests the boundaries of an international treaty.”

AP: “The Supreme Court has left in place a court order barring Missouri from enforcing a law limiting protests near funerals.”

FRC: “Today, Family Research Council announced the launch of the Stop Kevin Jennings campaign. Kevin Jennings is a radical homosexual activist whom President Barack Obama appointed to head the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.”

“The Supreme Court on Monday declined to stop a school district from blocking a group of Christian students from forming a Bible club on campus . . . ”

AP: “The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.”

Ricci, et al. v. DeStefano, et al. (07-1428 and 08-328)

Case Background and Filings

South Texas Law Review>/a>: “The Texas case of Roman v. Roman presents the question of whether contracts can bind couples to the destruction of their embryonic children absent any attempt at implantation. In 2006, the Texas Court of Appeals for the First District was asked to determine the fate of three frozen embryos conceived during marriage but whose implantation was blocked by their father’s refusal to consent to their transfer into their mother’s uterus. This Article describes the mother’s fight to preserve the lives of her embryonic children and argues that the Texas appellate court’s acceptance of ambiguous contractual terms created an unjust result that conflicted with the intentions of the mother at the time the embryos were to be discarded.”

Notre Dame Law Review: “This article examines ‘Golden Rule reasoning’–reasoning according to the principle that we should treat others as we would have them treat us–as a basis for moral action and as a criterion for assessing the moral quality and implications of judicial decisions, legal rules, and proposals for legal reform.”

Cardozo Journal of Law & Gender: “Part I of this Note will examine earlier case law regarding a woman’s right to defend her unborn children before moving on to an analysis of the Kurr decision. Part II will examine case law and scholarship regarding fathers’ interests or rights as to their unborn offspring and determine whether the Kurr decision conflicts with the Supreme Court’s fetal jurisprudence. Part III will argue that a father has the right to defend his unborn children under the Kurr decision based on the current requirements of the ‘defense of others’ and on the Supreme Court’s prior fetal jurisprudence.”