Daily Archives: May 4, 2010

LifeNews: “The personhood amendment has failed to qualify for the November ballot in another state. One week after California organizers announced the didn’t get enough signatures, backers of the amendment in Missouri indicated they did not receive enough as well.” | Ballotpedia: Missouri Personhood Amendment (2010)

AU: “Nebraska religious group that holds evangelistic rallies during the school day in public schools may be held legally liable for violating the Constitution, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. In a letter today, Americans United warned officials . . . ”

Contra Costa Times: “The City of Lancaster faces a lawsuit against the city council’s policy of opening meetings with sectarian prayers. Plaintiffs Shelley Rubin and Maureen Feller filed suit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court asking a judge to prohibit ‘any session of (the) city council to include a prayer wherein the name of Jesus Christ is invoked.’ The suit was filed three weeks after more than 75 percent of voters on a Lancaster ballot measure expressed support for the prayers.”

Catholic Culture: “Russia’s population has declined by nearly 7 million since 1991.”

“The court reversed the conviction of Bishop Rick Painter of Christ the King Liturgical Charismatic Church in the wake of a federal court’s determination last month that the city noise ordinance under which he was convicted is unconstitutional when enforced against sounds generated in the course of religious expression, such as church bells.”

Miami Herald: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is asking Gov. Charlie Crist to veto a bill containing anti-abortion amendments they say affects the health of women. The ACLU said Tuesday the measure (HB 1143) would undermine women’s rights . . . ”

Gazette Online: “Bryan English, spokesman for Iowa Family Policy Center Action, said, if given the chance, he is ‘quite convinced’ the decision of Iowa voters on a proposed constitutional amendment would be similar to 31 other states that have affirmed marriage as only between one man and one woman.”

Kansascity.com: “The legislation would require that the consultation occur in person instead of over the phone and that women be given details about fetal development. Abortion providers also would have to give women a chance to see an ultrasound and listen to a heartbeat.” | SB 793

ADF Attorney David French writing at Phi Beta Cons: “San Jose State University has suspended all blood drives on campus. Why? Because the FDA bans donations from men who have sex with men. With some critical shortages in the local supply, at least those innocents who suffer from SJSU’s decision can comfort themselves with the knowledge that they’re (involuntarily) suffering for a cause. Read more from — including the FDA’s justifications for its ban — at ADF’s Academic Freedom File.”

Stanley Fish writing at the New York Times | The Opinionator: “It has become a formula: if you want to secure a role for religious symbols in the public sphere, you must de-religionize them, either by claiming for them a non-religious meaning as Kennedy does here, or, in the case of multiple symbols in a park or in front of a courthouse, by declaring that the fact of many of them means that no one of them is to be taken seriously; they don’t stand for anything sectarian; they stand for diversity. So you save the symbols by leeching the life out of them. The operation is successful, but the patient is dead.”

Christian Institute: “A secular campaign group is trying to use the courts to ban a North Devon Council from starting its meetings with Christian prayers. Bideford Town Council has had prayers at its meetings since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, but now the National Secular Society (NSS) says the practice infringes the human rights of non-believers.”

Beliefnet (RNS): “More than a decade after it was first introduced, an on-again off-again bill to protect employees’ religious expression in the workplace is attracting renewed attention that could lead to action on Capitol Hill in coming weeks . . . If passed, the now narrowly tailored legislation would require employers to make reasonable accommodation in the three areas where the vast majority of religious accommodation claims fall: religious clothing, grooming, and scheduling of religious holidays.”

Think News: “Religious freedom and the prevention of religious extremism will be the main focus of a High Level EU meeting being held in the Palacio de Congresos in Córdoba today and tomorrow.”

Next: “Religious organizations and other non-profit organizations working in Nigeria will soon be legally required to disclose their transactions and accounting records.”

Reuters: “Malaysia’s highest court began proceedings on Monday on a landmark inter-religious child custody dispute whose outcome could further raise political tension in this mainly Muslim country.”

TIME: “Demonstrations are hardly unusual in Lebanon, where politics is often conducted on the streets. But the few thousand people who gathered in Beirut on Sunday to march on the country’s parliament made for an unusual sight, mostly because of what was missing. There were hardly any religious symbols or sectarian political banners among them, in a country where religion and politics are practically synonymous. But those who showed up for Sunday’s Secular Pride March bore no crosses, crescents or portraits of saints or martyrs; they carried only roses and the red and white cedar flag of the republic in protest at religion’s domination over civil and political life in Lebanon. ‘What’s your sect? None of your business!’ they chanted.”

Amnesty International: “Amnesty International has called on the Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite, to ensure that the 2010 Baltic Pride march goes ahead on 8 May despite a new attempt to have it banned.”

Peter Hitchens writing at Mail Online: “The study found that for every extra hour of TV a week that the two-year-olds watched, there was a 6 per cent decrease in maths achievement, a 7 per cent decrease in classroom engagement and a 10 per cent increase in ‘victimisation’ (eg teasing, rejection and assault) by their peers. Each extra hour also corresponded with 9 per cent less exercise, consumption of 10 per cent more snacks and a 5 per cent rise in Body-Mass Index.”

Diario Digital De Santa Fe [Google Translation]: “The Archbishop of Santa Fe, Monsignor Jose Maria Arancedo, spoke against the bill to authorize marriage between persons of the same sex in Argentina and to be adopted in the Chamber of Deputies.”

Taiwan News (AP): “Germany’s interior minister says he sees no need for a ban on full-body veils, or burqas, in the country . . . De Maziere says there are only some 100 women in Germany who wear a burqa so it is basically a non-issue here.”

The Christian Institute: “Whatever the result of the election, experienced observers believe MPs are likely to have a free vote at some stage on whether civil partnerships should be renamed as ‘marriage’.”

Google News (AP): “The Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said Tuesday the Rev. Bradley Schmeling and the Rev. Darin Easler have been approved for reinstatement.”

OnTopMag (“gay advocacy website”): “Nestor Kirchner, Argentina’s former president and a current national deputy, says he’ll vote in favor of a gay marriage bill . . . Kirchner relinquished control of Argentina in 2007 when he handed the reigns of power to his wife, Christina Fernandez de Kirchner. He currently helms the powerful Front for Victory Party (Frente Para la Victoria, FPV) and represents the Buenos Aires Province in the country’s lower chamber.”

Milford Daily News: “Selectmen last night granted an adult entertainment license to Showtime Entertainment LLC owners George and Christopher Funari, who plan to put a strip club at 50 Milford St. The license comes with numerous conditions, including paying for an off-duty police officer to patrol inside the building and in parking lots on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.”

CCFON: “Male and female pupils are to be taught separately during sex education classes in a bid to cut teenage pregnancy rates in Knowsely, Merseyside, an area notorious for the highest rates of teenage motherhood in Britain.”

Engage Family Blog, Family Policy Council of West Virginia: “As part of it’s mission to educated the voters of WV on issues of life, marriage, and religious freedom, the Family Policy Council of WV (“FPCWV”), has released its West Virginia Nonpartisan Values Voter’s Guide for the May 11th primary election . . . ”

WLTX.com: “Rep. Chip Limehouse says the legislation is in response to a federal judge’s ruling last month that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.” | H. 4893

Yahoo News: “Between 2000 and 2008, the proportion of poor women in the United States having an abortion increased nearly 60 percent, from 27 percent to 42 percent, says a new study. According to the report released May 4 by the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute . . . ”

Robert Lowry Clinton writing at National Review Online: “Many Americans are puzzled and angry about the judicial assault on religion, morality, and common sense that has been going on for the past few decades. People wonder, for example, how the First Amendment (which guarantees freedom of religion as well as separation of church and state) could possibly require the expulsion of religion from public life, or outlaw prayers at high-school football games and graduation ceremonies. To answer questions like these, one must understand how federal judges got the power to make such controversial political decisions in the first place, and how the judges used that power to bludgeon the American citizenry into believing that their power was legitimate.”

“New York’s top court says a woman whose lesbian partner gave birth following their civil union in Vermont has parental rights, including visitation.”

Anne Wilde Mathews writes at the Wall Street Journal via Google: “Most women getting abortions pay for them out of their own pockets, with private insurers picking up the cost for just 12%, according to a new survey . . . But the new survey by the Guttmacher Institute suggests that private plans play only a limited role in enabling women to obtain abortions.”

LifeSiteNews: “California’s pro-family therapists are striving to persuade the state’s largest therapist association to stand firm against demands to suppress or kick out members who seek to help clients with unwanted same-sex attraction.”

LifeSiteNews: “Ballo, himself the child of a polygamous situation, said that Islamic men practice polygamy in order to receive income from their ‘wives’’ state benefits. ‘They practice polygamy just for that,’ he said. ‘I’d go so far as to say that polygamists here (in France) are breeding for cash.’ Ballo is the son of Malian immigrants whose father and grandfather were polygamous. He told AP that his group helps women and children find housing, benefits and jobs apart from their polygamous ‘husbands,’ a process known in France as “decohabiting.

LifeNews: “The state of Iowa has announced it has begun an investigation into the new ‘telemed’ process Planned Parenthood is using to dispense abortion drugs.”

LifeNews: “The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Thursday on controversial pro-abortion appeals court nominee Goodwin Liu.”

LifeNews: “A new study from the pro-abortion Guttmacher institute appears to confirm a point the pro-life community was making during the debate over health care reform. Meanwhile, the new research on women getting abortions find half getting at least their second abortion and more poor women getting abortions . . . ”

The MP3 recording from today’s oral arguments runs approximately 1.5 hours. ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks argued on behalf of the plaintiffs. | Related ADF press release: ADF attorneys available to media following hearing over DC marriage initiative

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco on the Complete Story with Dick Bott to discuss this: E. Mich. Univ. ousts student for not affirming homosexual behavior. | The MP3 runs just over 28 minutes.

Politics Daily: “When The Washington Post recently hired blogger Dave Weigel to cover the conservative movement and the GOP, one right-leaning site, Newsbusters, was not impressed . . . Weigel [recently] sent out the following Tweet: ‘I can empathize with everyone I cover except for the anti-gay marriage bigots. In 20 years no one will admit they were part of that.’”

Washington Examiner: “Within days of enactment of the new law, developers across the country nixed plans for 24 new physician-owned hospitals under construction. It will be a struggle for an additional 47 new such hospitals under construction to meet an Obamacare-imposed deadline of Dec. 31 to be finished and have their Medicare certification.”

ADF Attorney Travis C. Barham writing at speakupmovement.org/university: “Each year, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA) sponsors the ‘Gay Softball World Series.’ But three bisexual men—represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights—filed a discrimination suit in Seattle, Washington because their team was disqualified for having too many ‘heterosexual’ players. And what is the NAGAAA’s response? Well, it claims it is a private organization and ‘can determine its membership based on its goals.’ At one point, the players were told, ‘This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series.’ Does this sound vaguely familiar? All of a sudden, portions of the homosexual community recognize the importance of the freedom of association, which comes as a refreshing change.”

Chuck Colson writing at Crosswalk: “The Alliance Defense Fund is representing Cenzon-DeCarlo, arguing that forcing her to assist in taking the life of a 22-week pre-born child is, ‘illegal, unethical, and a violation of Cathy’s rights of conscience as a devout Catholic.’ The ADF says Mt. Sinai violated state laws and intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon her.”

The Tampa Tribune: “Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, isn’t surprised that some politicians are ignoring the federal court ruling . . . Gaylor compared her group’s battle over National Day of Prayer as a ‘David versus Goliath fight.’ The National Day of Prayer Task Force has up to 40,000 volunteers on its side and millions of dollars at its disposal from the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based group of Christian lawyers. Conversely, her group has eight paid staff members and spent $50,000 on the first round of litigation – draining nearly its entire annual legal budget. Nonetheless, the group plans to fight the administration’s appeal of the ruling.”

One News Now: “There’s no question that school administrators are under tremendous pressure from pro-homosexual organizations not only to promote homosexuality by supporting ‘gay’ clubs, but also to label as discrimination any discussion of reparative therapy or suggestion that many teens outgrow same-sex attraction. Stating baldly in sex-ed class that homosexual sex carries significantly greater health risks than heterosexual sex would be considered the height of political incorrectness.”

Crosswalk: “Last month, a federal judge from Wisconsin struck down the National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion . . . [Joel Oster], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund said, ‘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.’”

Associated Baptist Press: “President Obama has followed through on his promise to declare May 6 the National Day of Prayer despite a controversial April 15 ruling by a federal judge who said the government encouraging its citizens to pray violates the First Amendment . . . Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Interfaith Alliance both said the decision was well-reasoned and sensitive to the true nature of uncoerced faith. The Alliance Defense Fund and American Center for Law and Justice criticized the decision and said it would likely be overturned.”

Yahoo News (AFP): “Italian police fined a Muslim woman for wearing a full Islamic veil in a street in the northern city of Novara, possibly the first such incident in Italy, city officials said on Tuesday.”

“. . The paradox is this: Cultural conservatives revel in condemning the loose moral values . . . But if you want to find two-parent families with stable marriages and coddled kids, your best bet is to bypass Sarah Palin country and go to Nancy Pelosi territory . . .”

How did we get from a common agreement on Jefferson’s words to the proposition of Chai Feldblum?

Religion Clause Blog: “Today’s London Daily Mail reports that the National Secular Society (NSS) is filing a test suit against the Bideford Town Council, in North Devon. The suit claims that opening town council sessions with Christian prayer violates Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights that protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Kennedy v. Villa St. Catherines, Inc., (D MD, April 30, 2010), a Maryland federal district court held that the exclusion in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that permits religious institutions to use religious criteria in their hiring does not prevent a suit under Title VII for religious harassment or for retaliation stemming from opposition to the harassment . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “Illinois federal district court last week issued yet another decision in the long running litigation against a suburban Chicago school district over its attempt to prevent two Christian students from wearing a T-shirt carrying the slogan “Be Happy, Not Gay” as their participation in ‘Day of Truth,’ an event set up to counter the LGBT ‘Day of Silence’ event . . . ”

SCOTUS Blog: “At the WSJ Law Blog, Ashby Jones writes that the “short list” has been further narrowed to four: Kagan, Wood, Garland, and the Ninth Circuit’s Sidney Thomas.”

Tom Goldstein writes at SCOTUS Blog: “But the Doe v. Reed argument identified an extremely strong fifth vote: Justice Scalia. In that argument, Justice Scalia expressed the strong view that disclosure requirements do not implicate significant First Amendment concerns. To the concern that disclosure could deter expression, Justice Scalia responded, ‘[T]he fact is that running a democracy takes a certain amount of civic courage.’”

AP: “France’s opposition Socialists have presented a bill that would ban Islamic face veils in places such as hospitals and banks.”

“‘in the year of our Lord’ for a celebration of Jewish Heritage Month . . . has been replaced by the simple phrase, ‘in the year two thousand ten.’”