Daily Archives: April 22, 2010

LifeNews: “The Missouri state Senate voted today to approve a bill that would help women with a pre-abortion ultrasound and give them information they need to make a better decision than abortion. The Senate voted 26-5 to expand the requirements of the current 24-hour waiting period.” | SB793

WFTV: “A massive child pornography bust in Polk County led to 29 arrests. Thursday morning, 28 people were arrested and the 29th suspect, Tim Lakin, turned himself in Thursday afternoon. The group is facing charges for possession and distribution of child pornography.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: “Americans United for Separation of Church and State today called on the Obama administration to investigate ten earmarks for religious schools and ministries that raise constitutional issues about inappropriate public funding of religion. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and three other cabinet officers, Americans United urged the administration to examine the congressional earmarks and block the funding unless appropriate legal safeguards can be put in place . . . ”

CitizenLink, DriveThru: “The Supreme Court of Kentucky handed the city of Louisville a huge gift today when it decided in favor of an extensive sexually oriented business ordinance passed by the Metro Council in 2004. All but one provision was held to be constitutional.” | Blue Movies, Inc., et. al. v. Louisville/Jefferson City Metro Gov’t, 2007-SC-000812-DG (Ky. April 22, 2010)

Family Research Council Press Release: “This decision is further evidence that the leadership of our nation’s military has been impaired by the politically correct culture being advanced by this Administration. Under this Administration’s watch we are seeing the First Amendment, designed to protect the religious exercise of Americans, retooled into a sword to sever America’s ties with orthodox Christianity.”

The Alliance Defense Fund sent follow-up letters to mayors across America Friday, informing them that a federal judge’s decision striking down the National Day of Prayer statute as unconstitutional in no way impedes their observance of this year’s 59th annual observance. The Obama administration appealed the judge’s decision Thursday.

NY Daily News: “He went to the feds and betrayed his associates because he didn’t want to get in any deeper with trafficking underage girls through craigslist, a source said. The tapes include one of the Gambino crew members telling a 15-year-old prostitute how to handle a customer who disgusted her, court records revealed.”

“Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, in 2001 described Islam as evil. More recently, he has said he finds Islam offensive and wants Muslims to know that Jesus Christ died for their sins.”

Times Online: “An American television network has blocked global internet broadcasts of an episode of South Park featuring the Prophet Muhammad after death threats from a radical Islamic group.”

Marci Hamilton writes at Findlaw: “In an earlier column for this site on the case of CLS v. Martinez, which is now before the Supreme Court, I argued that a public law school need not grant funding or grant official recognition to a group that excludes gay students from its voting membership and its leadership positions. Since then, Gregory Baylor, who is general counsel for the student group – the Christian Legal Society (“CLS”) – has responded to my column here on FindLaw. This week, the oral argument in the case occurred, and in today’s column, I will both reply to Mr. Baylor and comment on that argument . . . ”

“In a ‘Notice of Appeal’ filed in the Western District of Wisconsin on Thursday, Justice Department lawyers said that, on behalf of President Barack Obama and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, they were asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to overturn the judge’s ruling . . ”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Drew Mariani Show to discuss the Church Project. | The MP3 runs just over 15 minutes.

Telegraph: “Julian Lewis, a Conservative shadow minister, has said the age of consent for homosexuals should not have been lowered to 16 because it put teenagers at ‘seriously increased physical risk’ of catching HIV.”

The Sydney Morning Herald: “Tough reforms to NSW child pornography laws that scrap the ‘artistic merit’ defence have passed through parliament . . . Rather than relying on the defence of artistic purpose, as has previously been the case, artists who create images of naked children will now have to pay for a commonwealth classification to ensure against prosecution.”

The Globe and Mail has a fact sheet for “sex education” in Poland, the U.S., Finland, Spain, Netherlands, and Sweden: “Sex ed is a culturally sensitive issue in classrooms around the world, with a complete abstinence from discussion in some, and others going all the way.”

EU Observer: “Many of Europe’s biggest corporations are avoiding registering their lobbying activities in Brussels even as they admit to the scale of their operations in Washington where registration of lobbyists is required by law, according to a new study.”

C-FAM: “A top abortion-rights law firm recently released its conclusion that the last decade of international legal trends indicate that abortion is not only an international human right, but that government funding is part of that right. They claim that the ‘vicious’ health care debate in the United States over abortion funding shows that the U.S. is flouting international law.” | Center for Reproductive Rights | A Ten-Year Retrospective: Reproductive Rights at the Start of the 21st Century

UPI: “Belgian lawmakers are debating a bill that, if approved, would make Belgium the first European country to ban the burqa in public places, BBC News reports.”

Radio Netherlands Worldwide: “St Eustatius, Bonaire and Saba are to become ‘special municipalities’ of the Netherlands as a result of the formal dismantlement of the Dutch Antilles, which will take place later this year. When this happens Dutch law will be in force on the islands, which are former colonies of the Netherlands . . . The Island Council of St Eustatius has unanimously approved a motion against the ‘anti-social laws’ of the Netherlands, as Clyde van Putten, who tabled it, calls them.” | Wikipedia: Netherlands Antilles

Wicked Local Middleton (Tri-Town Transcript): “Middleton officials will ask voters at Town Meeting to establish a zone limiting adult entertainment in the Town of Middleton. Commercial abutters are now opposing the proposed adult entertainment zone that sits off Birch Road in Middleton, agreeing with residential abutters last year who voiced dissatisfaction with a similar plan.”

Albany Times Union: “Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, was in Albany on Wednesday to ask state legislators to update New York’s abortion law. New York was one of the first states to legalize abortion 40 years ago, but the law still is part of the penal code. Pro-choice advocates want it moved into the public health law, where it can better protect the privacy of patients and withstand legal challenges.”

LifeSiteNews: “Researchers at Fordham University in New York have published a study in the March edition of the Journal of Men’s Studies, showing that positive results can be gained by homosexual men seeking to change their “orientation” by developing healthy non-sexual relationships with other men . . .”

Catholic News Agency: “In an effort to prevent traditional marriage supporters from being targeted and harassed, lawyers in Washington state have filed a brief with the Supreme Court to keep the personal information of over 138,000 people private. Arguments will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 28.”

CBS: “The motion also claims that prosecutors say Blagojevich met a labor union official whom he believed to be in contact with President Obama, and told the official he would appoint a certain candidate to the vacant Senate seat. In exchange, Blagojevich expected to be named secretary of Health and Human Services, the motion says prosecutors claim.”

LifeSiteNews: “The pro-life movement in America is growing in leaps and bounds, attracting young, zealous women to defend the unborn in droves – a fact that even the president of NARAL has now admitted . . . ”

LifeNews: “The Virginia state legislature last night sided with pro-life Gov. Bob McDonnell by upholding his amendment to the state budget to cut taxpayer-funded abortions . . . ”

Virginia Family Foundation Blog

LifeNews: “The Canadian parliament on Wednesday defeated a bill that would have legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia. MPs form all parties voted against the measure, Bill C-384, the private members bill sponsored by Francine Lalonde that was opposed by pro-life and disability rights organizations . . . ”

Miami Herald (AP): “A watered-down school prayer bill inspired by a Florida Panhandle lawsuit has cleared the Florida House. The bill that passed Thursday would bar schools from infringing on the First Amendment freedoms of teachers, staff or students unless they sign a written waiver of those rights.” | SB 1580

“Asked in a followup if Obama would then be open to appointing a pro-life nominee, Gibbs faltered.”

Citizen Link: “Concern over federal funding of abortion in the health care reform law has prompted several states to move toward ‘opting out.’”

Philadelphia Gay News: “According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, LGBT middle- and high-school students report an absence rate of more than seven times that of heterosexual students.”

USA Today: “The Hawaii Legislature is close to passing a law that would allow the state to ignore repeated requests for to produce the document. ”

Google News (AP): “Muslims in the Arab world are incensed and Muslims in France are walking a delicate line after President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for an all-out ban on full Islamic veils. . . that the Quran does not require women to cover their bodies and faces.”

Janet E. Smith writing in Our Sunday Visitor: “The disturbing amount of duplicity and falsehood surrounding contraception continues to this day. Neither pharmaceutical companies nor physicians have been honest about the medical dangers of chemical contraceptives. The pill launched a whole set of chemical contraceptives, including Depo Provera, Ortho Evra, also known as the Patch, and Norplant. More and more studies (see the April 2009 study by Jessica Dolle of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) are linking contraception with increased incidences of some forms of cancer.”

eCanadaNow: “ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Joel Oster] stated of the recent ruling that, ‘The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith…..(it) does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance.’”

OneNewsNow: “Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney [Gary McCaleb] tells OneNewsNow that ice cream trucks could roam the streets playing louder music and not face sanctions . . . ‘What we’ll do now,’ says the ADF attorney, ‘is take this decision that the law is unconstitutional as applied to the bishop and take it over to the state court and see if we can’t get that conviction expunged and the bishop’s record cleared.’

LifeSiteNews: “Swedish authorities will convene soon to decide what to do about seven-year-old Dominic Johansson, who was seized by Swedish police and social workers last year because his parents chose to educate him at home . . . HSLDA and members of the Alliance Defense Fund have been giving legal advice to Christer and Annie Johansson about legal avenues for getting custody of their son back.”

The NY Post: “A record 43,000 students could not get into charter schools this year because of a lack of space — a pent-up demand that will only worsen because of the state’s cap on new schools, officials said yesterday. There are currently 99 charter schools in the city, a number that will expand to 125 next fall with 38,400 students. But the increase in capacity can’t keep up with a growing number of parents desperately seeking to get their kids into popular charters . . . ”

Christian Pop Culture Examiner: “Attorneys with the Christian legal firm Alliance Defense Fund urged President Barack Obama to appeal the decision of a federal judge’s ruling that National Prayer Day is unconstitutional recently . . . But ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster argues that the national prayer day is ‘America’s heritage’ and ‘belongs to Americans.’ He added, ‘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 attorney Erik Stanley appeared on True News with Rick Wiles to discuss the attack on Franklin Graham’s invitation to speak at a Pentagon event. They also discuss the National Day of Prayer Ruling. | The MP3 runs just under 25 minutes.

ADF attorney Mike Johnson appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss the court ruling holding that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. | The MP3 runs approximately 33 minutes.

FRC: “Last Wednesday, April 14th, the Alliance Defense Fund filed an Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of the Family Research Council in the the case of Boseman v. Jarrell. This is currently before the North Carolina Supreme Court and addresses whether and the manner in which adoptions by same-sex non-married couples fit within the legal framework set forth by North Carolina ‘s adoption statute. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following statement . . . ”

Pittsburgt Post-Gazette: “The recent charges against state Sen. Jane Orie stemming from the 2009 Supreme Court race, combined with the “explosive” growth in funds spent to elect appellate judges, are strong reasons why Pennsylvania should move to a merit selection system for judges, Gov. Ed Rendell said today.”

TimesLeader.com: “For nearly nine months, U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie has continued presiding over cases at the federal courthouse in Scranton while his nomination for a seat on a federal appellate court has been stalled in the U.S. Senate. His wait ended on Wednesday. After partisan holdups that have kept Vanaskie, 55, of Clarks Green, playing the waiting game, the Senate voted 77-20 Wednesday afternoon to confirm his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia . . . ”

NY Times: “In the 15 years since, Judge Wood, 59, has done just that, playing the role of philosophical outlier, a left-leaning woman in a world of right-leaning men, including Judge Posner and Judge Frank H. Easterbrook, a sharp-tongued intellectual who is now the court’s chief. The three have a long history together; all are former law professors at the University of Chicago, where an ambitious young state senator named Barack Obama made a name for himself lecturing on constitutional jurisprudence . . . ”

Salt Lake Tribune: “Hatch has already praised one woman who is a leading contender to take Stevens’ spot on the court, Elena Kagan, currently the U.S. solicitor general. The Utah Republican told a conservative radio program host in North Dakota last year that it would be tough to oppose Kagan or Sonia Sotomayor for the high court . . . ”

The Media Line: “The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has announced it is setting up a special division that will deal with human rights . . . ”

Washington Times: “President Obama is trying to pack courts with far-left judges who are hiding their fringe opinions from the public and congressional oversight. Front and center is 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Goodwin Liu . . . Mr. Liu’s stated belief in using foreign law is terribly misguided, and his defense of it was clearly dishonest. Someone with such poor judgment should not be a judge.”

Anchorage Daily News: “Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Tuesday the state will join 20 others led mostly by Republican governors in suing to overturn the health care overhaul bill signed into law last month by President Barack Obama.”

The Hill: “But Specter said that relationships between the two parties “have hardened” significantly in recent months, making things rougher for the next nominee than they were for Sotomayor.”

The Hill: “Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports show the crucial yes votes cashed in between March 21 and the end of the first quarter on March 31. They received big money from Democratic-leaning political action committees (PACs) and fellow Democratic members of Congress.”

The Center for Arizona Policy: “Critical legislation to protect and guarantee parental rights is ready for a final vote in the Arizona House. [SB 1309] will ensure in our state law that parents have the right ‘to direct the upbringing and education of their child.’ It also requires that children not be taught sex-related curriculum in public schools without parental consent.”

NY Times: “Mr. Leahy, who along with Mr. Reid stayed after the meeting to talk privately with Mr. Obama, afterward criticized what he called the ‘slim, activist, conservative majority’ led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and said he hoped to avoid a confirmation process dominated by narrow but emotional issues. ‘I’m not going to have this decided by single-issue groups on either the far right or the far left,’ Mr. Leahy told reporters.”

AP: “Republican Sen. John McCain, who once championed a path to citizenship for the nation’s roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants, is now pushing for a crackdown on illegals amid the toughest re-election fight of his career.”

AP: “Israel has indicted five of its citizens, including a retired army general, with operating a nationwide organ trafficking ring that ensnared dozens of potential victims.”

The Hill: “To defend against the SEC charges, Goldman has the most high-profile former Obama administration official in its employ. Greg Craig, who served as White House counsel during President Barack Obama’s first year in office, is working with the bank as part of its legal team at Goldman’s longtime law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom . . . Craig is part of a sprawling Washington network with ties to Goldman.”

Citizen Link: “Meeting with Senate leaders today, President Obama claimed he would have no abortion litmus test for his Supreme Court nominees, but he added a significant disclaimer . . . ”