Daily Archives: November 25, 2009

Planned Parenthood has quietly dropped its lawsuit against the former director of its Bryan health center who quit her job after observing an abortion procedure.

Arizona Republic: “‘Religion speech should not be treated as a First Amendment orphan,’ said Defense Fund attorney
David Cortman. ‘Churches should certainly have the same First Amendment rights to speak, and that’s the principle of this case.’”

AP: “Sunday’s election will likely accomplish what the plotters of a coup set out to do five months ago: end the political career of leftist President Manuel Zelaya and replace him with a more moderate leader from Honduras’ establishment.”

Christian Post: “‘Courts can settle disputes, but they cannot legitimately order a child into a government-run school on the basis that her religious views need to be mixed with other views. That’s precisely what the lower court admitted it is doing in this case, and that’s where our concern lies,’ said Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney John Anthony Simmons of Hampton.”

Earned Media: “In a letter dated Nov. 23, 2009, Daniel Blomberg, ADF litigation counsel, informed the USSRC executives that their ‘refusal is in direct violation of Vision Forum’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights,’ and he highlighted the fact that the USSRC had shown two pro-evolutionary films, ‘The Magic of Flight’ and ‘Blue Planet’, at their facility.”

ABA Journal: “‘The transfer of these high-profile cases to federal court affirms this nation’s adherence to due process and the rule of law, and clearly establishes that these men are being tried as criminals, not as soldiers in armed conflict,’ [ABA President Carolyn] Lamm wrote on behalf of the ABA.”

The ADF Alliance Alert Email Digest will not be published on (Thanksgiving) Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th.  In the event of major breaking news, a few posts may appear on the website and in automated feeds.

We wish all our readers a Blessed Thanksgiving!

ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks writes at Townhall: “A fundamental assumption of the ongoing debate on the definition of marriage is that it is. After all, in our ongoing public dialogue over marriage, nearly everyone assumes its benevolent nature. With advocates fighting over control of the hallowed ground of marriage, in order to change or preserve its scope and definition, one would think that the ultimate prize is a good thing. But, in a recent article, Professors Laurie Essig and Lynne Owens of Middlebury College pose the question of whether marriage is bad for society . . . ”

HLSDA: “Jurgen and Rosemarie Dudek of Archfeld, Germany, were found guilty under the German State of Hessen’s criminal law that requires that all children go to school. Even as Judge Drier recognized that the family was doing a fine job in educating their children, he still imposed a fine of 120 euros on them.”

JihadWatch reports that Obama’s grandmother is in Mecca at the invitation of the Saudi King for a celebration open only to Muslims. Apparently, she claimed to be a Christian during the election according to at least one report.

Cincinnati.com: “The Brass Bull and the Brass Mule . . . the raids resulted in eight counts of prostitution, four counts of promoting prostitution, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of not having a bar ID, three counts of nude dancing and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.”

CCFON: “Two civil servants from Holloway arrived at Islington Town Hall on Tuesday, 24th November 2009 with the intention of giving notice of their intention to form a civil partnership. Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle had deceived Council officials into thinking that they were a homosexual couple by registering using only their surnames and initials.”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Stephen Sims, 55, of San Leandro, Calif., is accused of acting as the gatekeeper for the network, requiring new recruits to send him images of naked children before he allowed them to become full member. Mr. Sims and seven other people have been arrested and charged in connection with the case, acting U.S. Attorney Robert S. Cessar announced yesterday. As many as 100 people have been connected to the network.”

At the Culture of Life Foundation, William E. May reviews Embryo: A Defense of Human Life by Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen.

Herald News: “After an impassioned presentation by Mayor-elect Will Flanagan and supporters, and ensuing debate, the City Council voted, 8-1, to move his bid to strictly regulate adult entertainment to the Committee on Ordinances & Legislation for further review.”

Globe and Mail: “The law, proceeding through Uganda’s Parliament and supported by some of its top leaders, would imprison anyone who knows of the existence of a gay or lesbian and fails to inform the police within 24 hours. It requires the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ – defined as any sexual act between gays or lesbians in which one person has the HIV virus.”

Reuters: “The Quinnipiac University survey found 49 percent of voters oppose a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 46 percent support such legislation, reversing an April poll that found 49 percent supported it and 43 percent opposed it.”

“Cardinal George Pell spelled out how the modern scramble to prohibit discrimination against people based on ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’ leads to ‘anti-discrimination laws which do not respect fundamental human rights such as freedom of religion and conscience.’”

The Providence Journal: “The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will consider President Obama’s nomination of Rhode Island Superior Court Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.”

OneNewsNow: “‘The court wanted the child to have her Christian views challenged, which is very different than just sort of benevolently wishing someone a well-rounded education in the arts and travel, arts and entertainment, and literature and the sciences and all that,’ the attorney contends.”

James Taranto writes at the NY Times:  ”And it hardly needs to be said that peer review is a sham if papers that present alternative hypotheses are not even allowed into the process . . . What we now know about the ‘peer review’ process in this field indicates that this is a predetermined conclusion.”

ADF filed suit after district refused to allow church to participate in flier program open to other community groups.

“Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia, [We] Do by these Presents solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil Body Politic . . .”

Catholic Culture: “‘We don’t legislate at the orders of the Vatican, we legislate what is in our conscience and what we think is good for our country,’ said Rep. Patrick Murphy as he received an award at Harvard University from Caroline Kennedy, who is Rep. Kennedy’s cousin.”

Religion Clause Blog: “A press release yesterday from the American Freedom Alliance (AFA) reports on a lawsuit it has filed against the California Science Center (CSC). AFA says its free expression rights were infringed when CSC, a state agency, cancelled a scheduled showing in its IMAX Theater of “We Are Born of the Stars”– a documentary promoting Intelligent Design.”

“The issue before us is whether a School District, in order to maintain a policy of complete religious neutrality, may prohibit celebratory religious music at school-sponsored events.”

Religion Clause Blog: “The Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Borough Council on Monday voted to allow only American flags and flowers on the town’s Memorial Square fountain war memorial. The decision means that the Nativity scene that was placed on the Square again this year by the Chambersburg Garden Club must now be taken down.”

David Masci writes at the LA Times: “According to a survey of members of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science, conducted by the Pew Research Center in May and June this year, a majority of scientists (51%) say they believe in God or a higher power, while 41% say they do not.”

AP: “It alleges school officials at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo routinely invoke prayers at student and faculty events, including scholarship awards ceremonies and training programs.” David Llewellyn represents the school and is quoted.

CNSNews: “Pakistan has long featured on security analysts’ shortlists of the world’s hotspots, but a comprehensive new survey of young Pakistanis’ attitudes signals that the situation could get significantly worse in the coming years.”

CNSNews: “U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says no more low-income, mostly minority children will get taxpayer-funded scholarships to attend private or parochial schools in the District of Columbia.”

AP: “Beal says you cannot be culturally literate without being biblically literate. He believes people who lack familiarity with biblical references in everyday life are missing a lot.”

AP: “Since then [Maine marriage vote], legislatures in New York and New Jersey have failed to schedule long-expected votes on bills to recognize the unions in those states.”

WCBD: “Charleston City Council passed ordinances expanding the city’s existing policy prohibiting discrimination in housing to include age, sexual orientation and gender identity.”

OneNewsNow: “More than ten faculty members e-mailed Douglas Freeman High School Superintendent Patrick Russo because of the appearance of abstinence proponent Pam Stenzel. Victoria Cobb of the Family Foundation of Virginia tells OneNewsNow that criticism also came from local affiliates of NARAL Pro-Choice and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).”

Citizen Link: “What began as an experiment in 1992 has become 5,043 charter schools in 39 states and the District of Columbia, providing nearly 2 million American families with opportunity not available in the public school system.”

Mercury News (AP)a: “The Alliance Defense Fund said the school doesn’t have to hand over anything because of a federal lawsuit it filed in September against the state concerning the school’s plan to use the Bible. The group said in the letter that it is considering a second lawsuit against the state to determine whether the school is operating within the boundaries of state law.”

AP: “Islamic religious authorities have begun tightening their grip on Iranian public schools, a report said Wednesday, as hard-liners expand an ideological ‘soft war’ against Western influence.”

Law.com (National Law Journal): “A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 on Monday that rules that bar legal aid organizations financed by the Legal Services Corp. (LSC) from participating in class actions and collecting attorney fees do not violate their First Amendment rights.”

LEGAL AID SERVICES OF OREGON V. LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATIONNo. 08-35467

“Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof . . .”

OneNewsNow: “‘The facility was initially very open to having Vision Forum show its movie there,’ [Daniel Blomberg] explains. ‘And then once they found out about the content of the movie that deals with scientific and religious perspectives on evolution, they decided they didn’t want to have the movie there after all.’”

Idaho Press Tribune: “The school and Charter Commission have clashed over the use of the Bible and other religious texts in the Academy’s classrooms. Cortman, of the Alliance Defense Fund, represents the school in a federal lawsuit against the state asking a judge to allow the school to use religious texts in a cultural context . . . ‘The purpose of this is to keep the school open but also to protect its Constitutional rights,’ Cortman said of the lawsuit.”

Christian Examiner: “An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney representing the mother stated that he is concerned when a court treads on the parents’ right to make ‘sound choices’ for their children. ‘Courts can settle disputes, but they cannot legitimately order a child into a government-run school on the basis that her religious views need to be mixed with other views. That’s precisely what the lower court admitted it is doing in this case, and that’s where our concern lies,’ said ADF-allied attorney John Anthony Simmons of Hampton.”

WorldNetDaily: “‘Courts can settle disputes, but they cannot legitimately order a child into a government-run school on the basis that her religious views need to be mixed with other views. That’s precisely what the lower court admitted it is doing in this case, and that’s where our concern lies,’ ADF-allied attorney John Anthony Simmons said in a statement.”

CitizenLink: “Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel for ADF, said marriage isn’t all that is at issue. ‘This threat to Don, his family, and his career makes clear that those in favor of redefining marriage want to penalize and silence those who don’t agree with them,’ he said. ‘Free speech, freedom of conscience and religious liberty are also in danger.’”

Almost Persuaded: Statutory Protections for Students’ Religious Rights
Joshua Dunn, 38 J.L. & Educ. 627 (2009)

“While Kenneth Marcus persuasively demonstrated that religious rights receive less official legal protection than other categories of rights, his proposed legislation creates two fundamental problems. First, it would generate significant costs, both by increasing the fear of formal investigation and litigation that beset teachers and school officials and by creating incentives to exaggerate claims of religious discrimination. Second, it would threaten religious liberties, both by prompting government entanglement with religious doctrines and practices and by undermining protections for religious speech. Thus, whether religious believers would welcome this legislation, which is intended to protect them, is unclear.”