Daily Archives: April 16, 2010

” . . . Voters approved the measure in November 2008, two years after the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a policy by state child welfare officials that blocked gays from being foster parents.”

ADF attorney Mike Johnson appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss yesterday’s National Day of Prayer ruling. Click “National Day of Prayer” or case name tag below for related posts.

The MP3 runs approximately 13 minutes.

Christian Science Monitor: “Haystack, an encryption software custom made to help the Iranian opposition evade official attempts to censor the Internet, is giving some regime opponents hope of organizing and making progress online.”

New York Times: “‘Actually going out and recruiting a gay student — that’s a very new thing for colleges,’ says Shane L. Windmeyer, the co-founder of Campus Pride, a national organization that promotes safe college environments for gay students and sponsored the event. While Ivy League schools are often represented, the fairs also attract lesser-known institutions like Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.”

Buenos Aires Herald: “The lawmaker explained that the current Adoption Bill allows for heterosexual couples and single parents to adopt, hence there’s already many gay men and women who have adopted children. ‘Homosexual people adopt children all the time, we’re not changing anything, only regulating something that already exists. When gay parents decide to adopt, only one person signs up as foster parent, but both of them raise their child,’ she stressed.”

Washington Post, Federal Eye: “President Obama decision to mandate visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians adds to a growing list of actions — big, small and ceremonial — taken by the federal government at the behest of gay rights groups eager to extend various rights and benefits to the LGBT community.”

Lebanon Daily News: “On Tuesday, the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center of Lebanon County will address the growing sexting problem with teens, parents and other concerned citizens at a town meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Lebanon High School auditorium, 1000 S. Eighth St.”

The Hill: “New Hampshire’s gubernatorial election could be a referendum on gay marriage. Gov. John Lynch (D) announced Friday he would seek an unprecedented fourth term. He came under attack recently from national conservative groups for signing a gay marriage bill into law last year.”

ACLU Blog: “Yesterday, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities conducted a hearing seeking to address the problems stemming from corporal punishment in public schools — the first Congressional hearing on this important issue since 1992. The ACLU and Human Rights Watch (HRW) submitted a statement for the record that discussed the ongoing corporal punishment of American public school children and its impact on their educational success . . . ”

ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Schilling Show to discuss abortion and the healthcare legislation.

The MP3 runs approximately 9 minutes.

ADF attorney Doug Napier appeared on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss the National Day of Prayer ruling.

The MP3 runs just over 7 minutes.

Related:

ADF on striking down of National Day of Prayer statute: “It’s America’s heritage, and this day belongs to Americans”

WI: Federal Court declares National Day of Prayer unconstitutional

Missoulian: “Breaking ground in Montana, the Missoula City Council on Tuesday adopted the first equality ordinance in the state that protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Daily Business Review (Law.com): “An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel indicated Thursday that the keyhole should be closed on Internet porn sites broadcasting from private residences, saying the sites constitute a business and could violate municipal zoning ordinances.”

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday on behalf of the Montana Family Foundation, which was excluded from the Montana State Employee Charitable Giving Campaign even though other issue advocacy and religious groups were allowed to participate.

“As more gays came to populate Catholic seminaries, fewer ‘straights’ were willing to do so, and fewer orthodox Catholic families were willing to encourage their sons to enter the priesthood. This helps explain the ‘priest shortage’ that currently afflicts the Catholic Church.”

CNN: “A federal judge on Thursday struck down the federal statute that established the National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion . . . ‘The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance,’ said [Joel Oster], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.”

The Hill: “The Supreme Court is asking for more federal security funds, citing as one reason the ‘volume’ of threats it receives. Justice Clarence Thomas told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday that the court wants money for 12 additional police officers, although security personnel want 24 ideally.”

Catholic Culture: “Following an April 13 Islamist terrorist attack that destroyed 70% of his cathedral, a Philippine bishop says that he and the other Christians of the city fear for their lives.”

“With talk that Seventh Circuit judge Diane Wood may be a contender for a Supreme Court nomination, and against the backdrop of reports of her blatant expressed hostility against orthodox Christian viewpoints, it’s vital to show how that hostility played out in at least one important opinion.”

AP: “A Senate hearing for federal appeals court nominee Goodwin Liu quickly erupted into partisan bickering Friday, in a likely test of President Barack Obama’s ability to win confirmation for a liberal court pick.”

FOX News, liveshots blog: “Carrie Severino, policy director for the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, draws the comparison between the CLS case and the situation now Justice Sonia Sotomayor faced during last year’s confirmation process. ‘If Diane Wood is nominated to the Supreme Court, the CLS case could be her Ricci,” Severino said in referring to Ricci v. DeStefano, last year’s affirmative action case that drew so much attention to Sotomayor. ‘If the Supreme Court rules for the Christian Legal Society . . . Judge Wood will have an uphill battle to convince the Senators and the American people that she is in the judicial mainstream’ . . . ‘Underneath the surface of her dissent, everyone recognizes that she thinks the homosexual agenda is more important than the First Amendment,’ CLS lawyer [Greg Baylor] told Fox News.”

Christian Post: “Just weeks away from the annual National Day of Prayer, a federal judge ruled on Thursday that the day is unconstitutional . . . ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Joel Oster] argues that the national prayer day is ‘America’s heritage’ and ‘belongs to Americans.’ ‘The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith – and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance,’ Oster contends. ‘It does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and this decision should be appealed.’” | ADF News Release

Religion Clause Blog: “According to a release issued yesterday by the Discovery Institute, an employee at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has filed suit in a California state court claiming religious discrimination, harassment and retaliation; wrongful demotion; and infringement of free speech rights . . .”

SCOTUS Blog’s latest list of Petitions to Watch includes this:

Title: Sossamon v. Texas; Cardinal v. Metrish
Docket: 08-1438; 09-109
Issue: Whether states and state officials may be subject to suit for damages for violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. §§2000cc to 2000cc-5.

CNN Newsroom: “Conservative religious groups have criticized the decision. [Joel Oster], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund says, ‘The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance.”’” | ADF News Release

CitizenLink: “A federal judge in Wisconsin has declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional . . . ‘The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith – and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Joel Oster]. ‘It does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and this decision should be appealed.’” | ADF News Release

National Day of Prayer Task Force (ChristianNewsWire): “The National Day of Prayer Task Force (NDPTF) and Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) are urging President Obama to appeal federal judge Barbara Crabb’s decision in Wisconsin that struck down a federal statute that sets a day for the National Day of Prayer . . . [Joel Oster], ADF senior counsel, echoed these sentiments saying, ‘It’s important to remember this about the National Day of Prayer: It’s America’s heritage, and this day belongs to Americans — the court should not have struck down this statute. ADF urges the Obama administration to appeal this terrible ruling that not only undermines the National Day of Prayer, but the underlying heritage and tradition of the American people which dates back to the nation’s founding.’”

Associated Press: “A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional Thursday, saying the day amounts to a call for religious action . . . The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based group of Christian lawyers, issued a statement saying Crabb’s ruling undermines American tradition dating back to the nation’s birth.” | ADF News Release

Charisma: “A Wisconsin federal judge has ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) are urging President Obama to appeal the decision. The group launched a grassroots effort called Save the National Day of Prayer that has more than 170,000 supporters on Facebook. ‘The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith–and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster.”

WorldNetDaily: “U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb issued the decision in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist and agnostic group that challenged the constitutionality of a 1988 federal law . . . Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund are urging President Obama to appeal the decision. They point out the order does not affect presidential prayer proclamations and will not go into effect unless the decision stands after all appeals are exhausted. ‘It’s important to remember this about the National Day of Prayer: It’s America’s heritage, and this day belongs to Americans,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Joel Oster].”

LifeSiteNews: “Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Pulaski County Special School District on behalf of a student and her mother, who were both prohibited from participating in Sherwood Elementary School’s literature distribution program because their fliers were ‘church-related.’ ‘Christian students shouldn’t be discriminated against for their beliefs,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman.”

Charisma: “Thousands of Christian students are participating in the sixth annual Day of Truth Thursday, a student-led initiative that seeks to encourage peer-level conversations about relationships and biblical sexuality . . . The event, sponsored by Exodus International, is a response to the annual Day of Silence, an event created by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) that encourages students to remain silent to show support for students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Since the Alliance Defense Fund started the Day of Truth in 2005, more than 13,000 students nationwide have participated.”

Newt Gingrich and Jim Garlow write in the Washington Post: “Americans like to think of their college campuses as marketplaces of ideas where students have the opportunity to freely browse a host of competing beliefs, attitudes and philosophies. Unfortunately, today’s academic marketplace is more like a company store. A single, humanistic, decidedly leftist worldview is sold in too many classrooms . . . and the customer refuses delivery at his or her own risk.”

Michael Stokes Paulsen writes at Public Discourse: “America’s abortion laws may inspire a dangerous provision in Kenya’s new constitution.”

“Minority Republican lawmakers sponsored a resolution this week honoring the 100-year anniversary of the Boy Scouts. This being California, the political equivalent of a school-yard brawl broke out. Democrats ultimately killed the resolution after criticizing the Boy Scouts for excluding homosexuals . . . ”

AP: “. . . Threats against cartoonists and artists over depictions of the prophet Muhammad have also raised fears that Islam is not compatible with Western values of freedom of speech. ‘Islam is more of an ideology than a religion,’ Wilders is fond of saying. ‘I do not believe in a European Islam. The Islamization of the Netherlands and Western Europe will make us lose the freedoms we have today.’”

Harvey Silverglate of FIRE writes at the Wall Street Journal full access via Google: “Can a public university force a Christian student group to accept as leaders students who explicitly reject core tenets of the group’s faith? On Monday the Supreme Court will entertain precisely this question—and the First Amendment right to freedom of association hangs in the balance. The facts in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez are straightforward . . . ”

Joseph Stiglitz and John Sulston write at the Wall Street Journal full access via Google News: “Genetic sequences are naturally occurring things, not inventions. No company should be allowed to monopolize research on them.”

“‘Inject Fault Back into Divorce Proceedings’ examines Senate Bill 1127, introduced by Senator Michelle McManus (R-Traverse City). The bill would revamp Michigan’s divorce laws requiring that in cases where children are involved, a cause for divorce must be established. MFF is supportive of efforts such as SB 1127, which attempt to bring more justice into the law and slow down the divorce process, especially when minor children are involved.”

Attorneys representing a student chapter of the Christian Legal Society at California’s Hastings College of the Law will be available for media interviews outside the U.S. Supreme Court following oral argument Monday in the chapter’s lawsuit against the school.

AP: “A German court convicted ultraconservative British Bishop Richard Williamson on Friday for denying the Holocaust in a television interview.”

Wikipedia provides the quote: “During an interview on Swedish television recorded in November 2008, he stated: ‘I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against, is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler’,[47] and ‘I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, but none of them in gas chambers.’”

AP: “Police in this small town in eastern South Africa thought they had a problem with prostitutes they could solve in the usual way – arrest the women and get them off the streets. Then Warrant Officer Magda Scholtz found herself doing something unusual. She talked to the women, curious about what had brought them to Ermelo. She found the problem was human traffickers . . . ”

“About a third of all child sex abuse cases involve men molesting boys–and in one study, 86% of such men identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual. Try as they might, gays and lesbians can’t shrug off the link. This is a homosexual problem.”

Salt Lake Tribune: “Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, a group created by the adult entertainment industry, also made the case that pornography has become more acceptable over time.
‘Prosecutors are less enthusiastic about prosecuting for obscenity because they realize that our society is becoming more supportive of adults rights to be adults and to access adult materials,’ she said. Robert Peters from Morality in Media says federal agencies are to be commended for going after online sexual exploitation of children, but adds they ‘have for the most part turned a blind eye towards the explosion of hard-core adult pornography on the Internet and elsewhere.’”

AP: “A Chinese court jailed three people Friday who posted material on the Internet to help an illiterate woman pressure authorities to reinvestigate her daughter’s death, one defendant’s lawyer said, in a trial that attracted scores of supporters . . . ”

Citizen Link: “The Georgia Senate has passed a bill banning abortion in cases of coercion, gender selection and racial discrimination. But the landmark legislation has encountered problems in the House of Representatives . . . ” | SB 529

“Domenech later added an update to the post: “I have to correct my text here to say that Kagan is apparently still closeted — odd, because her female partner is rather well known in Harvard circles.’ . . . ‘So pervasive are these rumors that two senior administration officials I spoke with this weekend acknowledged hearing about them’ . . . ”

“From every indication, it appears that in Congress and the Navy, the objects of Massa’s advances, all apparently subordinate to him, were intimidated by his rank and position. Almost all simply sought escape . . . ”

The Hill: “A Democratic party source said Thursday evening that the White House was preparing to take an ‘aggressive stance’ against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over Senate Republicans’ vocal opposition this week to a financial regulatory reform bill set for debate on the Senate floor.”

ACLU: “Today, the Texas State Board of Education released amendments to the state’s social studies curriculum that essentially rewrite history to comport with the personal ideological and religious beliefs of some members of the board . . . The public has 30 days to comment on the proposed amendments to the curriculum released today. Rest assured we will be submitting ours and encouraging others to do so too . . . ”

“If a policy that leads to greater consumer satisfaction at lower cost, and produces no negative side-effects in test scores, is viewed as a ‘failure’ by progressives, then I don’t think we need to worry very much when progressives criticize the free market. As Dylan once said: ‘There’s no success like failure, and failure’s no success at all.’” | Via NRO’s Reihan Salaam. Salaam has more on the program here.

CitizenLink: “In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, asked Attorney General Eric Holder about his policy of enforcing federal obscenity laws. Under Holder’s leadership, prosecutions have stalled . . . Patrick Trueman, former head of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the DOJ, said he’s not aware of what the First Amendment considerations are, but he’ll continue to keep up the pressure.”

HAARETZ: “Eric Cantor, a leading Republican official in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Thursday lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama’s remarks about Israel at this week’s nuclear security summit.”

Mr [Paul] Diamond said: “There will be a collision between the established faith of this land and judicial decisions and that will lead to civil unrest.”

“President Obama mandated Thursday that hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and allow same-sex couples to share medical power of attorney, perhaps the most significant step so far in his efforts to expand the rights of gay Americans.”