Daily Archives: November 5, 2009

ABC: “‘Sometimes it’d be 10 women in an orgy scene — nonstop,’ he said, talking about his career at its busiest . . . ‘I get that call,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Everything stops. I had the virus.’”

Wall Street Journal: “An emotional debate over the role of Islam in Switzerland is heating up as a referendum approaches that would ban the construction of minarets on mosques.”

Breitbart (AP): “An unassuming college math student has become an unlikely hero to many in Iran for daring to criticize the country’s most powerful man to his face.”

LifeNews: “The Baltimore City Council has taken the first step in favor of a proposal that would target pregnancy centers by making them post a sign saying they do not offer abortions or provide contraception. It contains no stipulations for abortion centers saying they don’t provide alternatives . . . ”

Seattle Times: “. . . opponents of R-71 were not conceding Thursday afternoon.”

Yahoo News (AP): “Senate Democrats have blocked a GOP attempt to require next year’s census forms to ask people whether they are a U.S. citizen.”

Weekly Standard: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the speaker will not allow the final language of the health care to be posted online for 72 hours before bringing the bill to a vote on the House floor, despite her September 24 statement that she was “absolutely” committed to doing so.”

The Governor’s press release is here.

CFNews13.com: “The teen has been in Orlando since July, when she ran away from her Columbus, Ohio, home after she said she was afraid her Muslim family would hurt and kill her because she converted to Christianity.”

Rifqa Bary

ACLU: “Poor graduation rates in Palm Beach County, Florida demonstrate a failure by state officials to ensure that all students receive a high quality education as mandated by the Florida Constitution, according to a class action lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida. At least a third – and possibly as many as half – of Palm Beach County’s students do not graduate on time with a regular diploma, well below both state and national averages . . . ”

ACLU: “The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hear testimony today from an Obama administration official on S. 1584, a bill that would finally end workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.”

Louisville Courier-Journal: “The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week denied the city’s request that the full court reconsider a September ruling by a three-judge panel blocking the city from closing New Albany DVD.”

AP: “U.S. Capitol Police have arrested a dozen anti-abortion activists outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office after a massive protest against the Democrats’ health care bill.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Today’s Arkansas Times reports that the Superintendent of the Benton, Arkansas schools is ‘trying to figure out what to do’ about a parent’s complaint over religious activity at Ringgold Elementary School . . . ”

How Appealing reports on the ruling in U.S. v. Hinkson, No. 05-30303 (9th Cir. Nov. 5, 2009).

Fox News: “As a crowd of protesters shouted ‘kill the bill,’ House Republicans on Thursday rallied opposition against the Democrats’ health care legislation, even as President Obama touted two major endorsements from doctors and seniors groups.”

LifeSiteNews: “‘This new domestic partnership scheme is precisely the type of marriage imitation that the constitutional amendment approved by Wisconsin voters was intended to prevent,’ said Brian Raum, Senior Counsel in the ADF. ‘Those who are determined to redefine marriage in Wisconsin are attempting an end-run assault on marriage hoping they can evade the clear language of the state constitution.’”

Washington Post: “The AARP, the nation’s largest and most influential association of older Americans, endorsed the House health-care bill Thursday morning and vowed to lobby House members in advance of Saturday’s historic vote.”

CBC.ca: “The Indian government on Thursday has refused to allow foreign journalists to cover the Dalai Lama’s visit on Sunday to a region at the heart of a border dispute with China.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: In its letter to the IRS, Americans United requested an investigation. ‘This event appears to be a clear breach of federal tax law,’ wrote Lynn. ‘The church offered one candidate an opportunity to deliver a campaign address to the congregation, and the top official of the church praised her knowledge of the ‘ins and outs of our city government’ and introduced her as ‘the next mayor of the city of Harrisburg.’”

National Review editorial: “If President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and other Democratic leaders want to have a national debate about abortion at this moment, we welcome that. But cowering in the legislative murk surrounding health-care reform is underhanded, and ought to be denounced as such by people of good faith, Republican or Democratic, pro-life or pro-choice.”

Tulsa World: “AKITA — This tiny town near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line north of Enid may soon own the country’s only all-Christian prison, with Christian administrators, employees, counselors and programs.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In a brief opinion in Kidd v. Obama, (D DC, Oct. 30, 2009), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to use of ‘In God We Trust’ on U.S. currency, brought by a plaintiff who described himself as an atheist.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Missouri’s sales tax statute (MRS 144.020) imposes a 4% tax on admission or fees paid to ‘any place of amusement, entertainment or recreation, games and athletic events.’ According to reports today from AP and Columbia’s Missourian, state Department of Revenue officials have notified yoga and Pilates centers that beginning Nov. 1 they have to collect the tax.”

Personhood USA: “November 5, 2009 marks the one-year anniversary of the inception of Personhood USA. Following the Nation’s first-ever Personhood effort to reach an election ballot, Personhood USA was launched by the Colorado campaign’s full-time coordinators, Cal Zastrow and Keith Mason. For the first time, Personhood USA is releasing the full list of states participating in Personhood efforts. The complete list is available at www.personhoodusa.com.”

NPR: “Gay-marriage advocates are vowing to press on after a defeat in Maine on Tuesday. Voters passed a measure blocking gay marriage in that state, dealing a major setback for the cause around the nation.” Audio available at the link.

Euractiv.com: “Members of the European Parliament voiced strong warnings yesterday (4 November) against increased meddling by the Croat Catholic church in the country’s internal and external affairs.”

European Voice: “David Hannan and Roger Helmer, two UK Conservative MEPs, have resigned from their party posts in protest against the new Conservative line on the European Union’s Lisbon treaty.”

“Two proposals are being drafted in the N.H. House: . . . a constitutional amendment . . would charge voters with deciding if ‘the state shall only recognize the union of one man and one woman as marriage.’”

Bangor Daily News: “Members of the state’s Gambling Control Board debated at length Wednesday about Hollywood Slots’ request to add a new type of slot machine, but then decided to delay the decision pending more information.”

The Sun Chronicle: “Residents, especially on Madison Street, continue to strongly oppose an adult entertainment district proposed off Route 1. Almost 50 people turned out to a public hearing before the planning board Wednesday night.”

Tigard Times: “The public discussion about the popular chain of ‘adult entertainment clubs,’ more commonly referred to as strip clubs, seems to have died down in recent months. But it was just a year ago that many in the city were immersed in a campaign to stop the club from setting up shop in the old Out of the Blues restaurant at 17939 S.W. McEwan Road.”

NJ.com: “A gay rights group hoping to build momentum for same-sex marriage in New Jersey’s upcoming lame-duck legislative session premiered an ad campaign on election night.”

Virtue Onlinea: “The United Methodist Church, however, has remained firm in upholding its traditional stance that homosexual practice ‘is incompatible with Christian teaching.’ In a decision released this week, the Judicial Council, the church’s highest court, struck down a resolution from the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference that said the church is divided on the issue.”

WWJ 950: “A state lawmaker from Washtenaw County wants to overturn Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage. Pam Byrnes of Lyndon Township has introduced a resolution to amend the state constitution to allow same-sex marriage. Voters in Michigan instituted the ban in 2004 by approving Proposal 2.”

LifeSiteNews: “A British man has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for lacing his wife’s food with an abortion drug. 36-year-old Gil Magira, a wealthy businessman, crushed tablets of the abortifacient drug regime RU 486 and put it into his pregnant wife’s sandwich, a bowl of cereal and a yoghurt, the Old Bailey court heard at the trial. Anat Abraham suffered bleeding and pain but her child survived.”

Republican Leader John Boehner: “What is even more alarming is that a monthly abortion premium will be charged of all enrollees in the government-run plan. It’s right there on line 16, page 96, section 213, under ‘Insurance Rating Rules.’”

ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks appeared on Right Here, Right Now on Portsmouth Community Radio with host ADF allied attorney John Anthony Simmons to discuss “sex changes” and other gender issues.

The MP3 runs just over 32 minutes.

Society for the Protection of Unborn Children Press Release: “The government has announced today that it will implement the recommendations of the pro-abortion SRE Review Group for sex education throughout all Key Stages (age 5-16) of the education system. Mr Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, issued a ministerial statement http://is.gd/4NPpA. Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, commented: ‘We condemn this exploitation of the state-controlled school system by the government to deliver its anti-life policies to children, by-passing parental involvement.’”

Providence Journal: “A zoning officer’s decision to deny the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health from locating in a Main Street building is drawing criticism from the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.”

Belleville News-Democrat: “Hours after a state board voted Wednesday to allow the enforcement of an Illinois law requiring a teenage girl’s parents be notified before she has an abortion, a judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the measure back on hold.”

Paul Belien writing in The Brussels Journal: “The new European superstate, however, is not a democracy. It has an elected parliament, but the European Parliament has no legislative powers, nor does it control the EU’s executive bodies. The latter, who also have legislative power overriding national legislation, are made up of ‘commissioners.’ These are appointed by the governments of the member states (although no longer with one commissioner per member state, as was the case so far, but with a total number capped at two-thirds of the number of member states). The EU is basically a cartel, consisting of the 27 governments of the member states, who have concluded that it is easier to pass laws in the secret EU meetings with their colleagues than through their own national parliaments in the glare of public criticism.”

Dallas Morning News: “Should taxpayer-funded health insurance pay for city employees’ sex-change operations? The proposal was one of 20 recommendations presented by a city-sponsored diversity task force formed more than three months ago after local and state police improperly raided a downtown gay bar.”

“Americans have a great deal of goodwill toward gay people as friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. Most of us do not want to hurt them or hate them or interfere with anyone’s legitimate rights to live as they choose. But . . . ”

Southeast Missourian (AP): “A federal court jury has ruled in favor of Knox County Schools in a lawsuit in which a student claimed he could not read and discuss Bible passages during recess . . . The Whitsons’ case was backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian legal group.”

Medical News Today: “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit this week struck down a Pittsburgh law that established two kinds of buffer zones around facilities that offer abortion services . . . The Alliance Defense Fund brought the suit on behalf of an antiabortion-rights advocate.”

Washington Times: “Senate Democrats are proving once again that no judicial nominee is too extreme for them to stomach. A move seems to be afoot to open debate on the Senate floor this week on the nomination of David Hamilton of Indiana to the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. This judge is a radical’s radical.”

“Every county east of the Cascades rejected Referendum 71 — some by resounding margins.”

Kermit Roosevelt, The Indivisible Constitution (April 16, 2009). Constitutional Commentary, Vol. 25, Pg. 321, 2009; U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 09-33. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1498636

“In The Invisible Constitution, Laurence Tribe argues that many of our most deeply-held constitutional convictions are not to be found in the words of the Constitution itself. They are, instead, part of what he calls the invisible Constitution. This review essay argues that although that claim is true, it is not worth spending a book on. Moreover, its very truth-the fact that certain ‘invisible’ constitutional propositions are as central and well-established as textual ones-undermines the value of treating the ‘invisible’ Constitution as a qualitatively different entity.”