Daily Archives: May 6, 2010

LifeSiteNews: “Prime Minister Stephen Harper planned to force members of the Conservative party to back a pro-abortion motion put forward by Liberals in March, before being convinced by his advisers not to, according to the Toronto Star. Sources in the Conservative caucus reportedly informed Susan Delacourt of the Star’s Ottawa bureau that at a special caucus meeting on the day of the vote, Harper wanted to ‘avoid the ideological trap,’ in Delacourt’s words, and quietly back the motion.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Senate Republicans continued today to express objections to federal appellate pick Goodwin Liu, delaying a committee vote on his nomination for at least another week.”

The Christian Institute: “Christian registrars who refuse to carry out same-sex civil partnerships could be thrown into jail under proposed legislation being considered in Ireland. A group of 19 church leaders has written to a national newspaper expressing their deep concern at the plans, which they say could also affect owners of B&Bs.”

Atlanta J. Constitution: “The school districts — Gwinnett, Atlanta, DeKalb, Bulloch, Candler, Henry and Griffin-Spalding — have sued the state because they question the constitutionality of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission and its ability to approve and fund charter schools. School district leaders have complained that the state commission takes money away from their students in tight budget times and gives charters to petitioners that the school systems have rejected.”

The Christian Institute: “Families are facing “couple penalties” of up to double what they incurred in 1997, according to a ‘startling’ new report. The respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has released findings showing that the size of couple penalties have increased since 1997-98 with £45 a week being the average penalty incurred now.”

AP: “In a 13-story building, damaged by debris from the Sept. 11 airliners that brought down the World Trade Center and soon to become a mosque, some see the bridging of a cultural divide and an opportunity to serve a burgeoning, peaceful religious population. Others see a painful reminder of the religious extremism that killed their loved ones.”

Albert Mohler writes at LifeSiteNews: “Now, a Christian preacher has been arrested in Britain for the crime of saying in public that homosexuality is a sin. This arrest is more than a news event — it is a signal of things to come and an announcement of a new public reality. Even if all charges are dropped against this preacher, the signal is sent and the message is clear. The act of Christian preaching is now a potential criminal offense . . . ”

Eric Buehrer of Gateways to Better Education and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State appeared on the Michael Medved Show to debate the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer. | MP3 Audio – 33:22 mins

‘Even though I’m pro-life I don’t want to impose my will on others.’

Kens5.com (includes video): “A home-run adult sex store was raided late Wednesday on Crestfield near Highway 151 and Military Drive.”

AP: “Members of a secular group packed Tampa City Council chambers this morning, calling on the board to abolish its decades-old practice of opening meetings with prayer. The nonprofit group Atheists of Florida wants the city to halt the invocations . . . ”

Global Post | Global Blog: “According to Mickey Bosschert, real estate agent for religious property, some 1200 churches in the Netherlands will be sold in the next ten years. Some of these churches will be repurposed, while others will be torn down.”

CNSNews: “Just two weeks after a federal judge in Madison, Wis., ruled that the annual National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, 92 percent of Americans told the USA Today/Gallup poll that they believe in God and only 5 percent said they oppose the National Day of Prayer.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “The center is a nonprofit organization aiming to promote sustainable development around the world, particularly in Latin America . . . ”

Boston Globe | Metro Desk: “Caritas Christi Health Care, Boston’s Catholic hospital network, has formally filed notice with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office of its plans to be acquired by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm . . . The stewardship agreement says that the hospitals must follow the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services set forth by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

Christian Newswire: “The Institute on Religion and Democracy has joined with international human rights and women’s rights leaders in a nationwide campaign to urge Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to denounce the recent election of Iran to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women . . . ”

ACLU: “Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Scott Brown (R-MA) and Congressmen Jason Altmire (D-PA) and Charlie Dent (R-PA)today introduced legislation that would strip American citizenship from Americans who have not been convicted of any crimes and are suspected of being involved with terrorism organizations. The bill would direct the State Department, which designates groups as terrorist organizations, to determine if a suspect is involved with or working for such an organization and whether or not to remove a suspect’s citizenship . . . ”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys secured a settlement and a dismissal order Tuesday in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Christian man whose attempt to reserve a public library’s meeting room for a religious seminar was rejected by Osceola County officials. Last year, officials with Hart Memorial Central Library notified Anthony Verdugo that a policy prohibiting religious uses precluded his “Religion in America” seminar from taking place because of its religious content.

LifeNews: “This week, abortion advocates the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and Amnesty International (AI) are teaming up with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to host the ‘first-ever’ briefings on ‘reproductive rights’ for the committees responsible for monitoring compliance with the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) . . . ”

LifeNews: “State officials in Pennsylvania want to close the abortion center run by abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who is under investigation following the death of a woman in a botched abortion . . . ”

ADF attorney Steve Aiden appeared on Freedom’s Ring with Alan J. Reinach to discuss healthcare rights of conscience. | MP3 audio – 13:22 mins

Eurasia Review: “Poll results released last week showing that 53 percent of Russians believe religion to be a personal matter’ . . . have prompted some unusual reactions in Moscow. Aleksandr Zhuravsky, the head of the department of the inter-ethnic relations of the Regional Development Ministry, told Nezavisimaya gazeta that these results reflect ‘a certain social paradigm which has been preserved in the consciousness of Russians from Soviet times.’ That paradigm holds, he continued, that ‘the social function of religious organizations is limited to the walls’ of the church, mosque or synagogue, and it is supported by ‘elderly citizens and citizens of middle age.’ But in his view, the situation now is different: ‘Religion is part of the spiritual culture and a socially active force,’ something protected by law.”

Asia News: “Europe applies double standards in dealing with measures of freedom of expression in society. This is the charge launched by the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, concerned that this fundamental right is not fully applied to religious communities.”

St. Petersburg Times: “Iraq’s two main Shiite parties brought the country a step closer to a new religious-based government by forming an alliance just four seats short of a parliamentary majority. The agreement raised fears that Sunnis could again be cut out of power, sparking a return to sectarian violence.”

The Register: “A new law has been proposed that mandates information to be given to website visitors to improve privacy protections in the US. It also lists types of data that can be used until people opt out, and others that can be used only with their consent. The proposal (pdf) has been published by members of the House of Representatives, Rick Boucher and Cliff Stearns, who are on the House’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. They claim it will offer better protection to users from the increased processing of data demanded by the growing use of behavioural advertising.”

The Tampa Tribune: “Pasco County Republicans are calling on Pasco-Hernando Community College to include a prayer at its graduation ceremonies. The party approved a resolution this week and mailed a copy to PHCC, which held a graduation ceremony at 10:30 and plans another for 4 p.m. today.”

The Orange County Register: “But soon after the formal dedication of the center May 14, researchers will begin moving into the four-story structure — one shaped as much by the politics of stem-cell science as the needs of the scientists themselves. It is one of several such centers being built around the state, and the first to be completed in Southern California.”

The Daily Star: “In Iraq, Syria and Egypt, significant Christian communities are dwindling toward extinction under intolerant practices, while they are completely marginalized politically by the prevailing brutality and their increasingly small numbers . . . Solid proposals are required to translate nonviolence into effective action. Here are three legal avenues which I have developed over the years to confront the extremist anti-Christian, anti-democratic message prevailing in the region.”

“Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle says ‘it’s up in the air’ whether she will veto or allow same-sex civil unions to become law. Lingle said Wednesday she will take her time before she decides.”

AP: “The Sunni-backed alliance that got the most votes in Iraq’s election warned Thursday against the rise of sectarian politics after two religious Shiite blocs joined together to try to form a government.”

AFA: “The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, (the governing board that controls the Internet) is ONCE AGAIN considering establishing an .XXX domain for pornography. This matter has been considered twice before but stopped because of overwhelming opposition in this country and abroad. An .XXX domain will increase the amount of porn on the internet and make it more available to adults and children . . . Here are reasons to oppose the .XXX domain, from our friends at PornHarms.com . . .”

Arizona Republic: “Swift action by the Gilbert Town Council to correct a ‘bad ordinance’ has restored the town’s reputation among faith-based groups, according to the Alliance Defense Fund . . . On Tuesday night, the Town Council gave final approval to an amendment that protects such groups’ religious freedom. ‘It cures the problem,’ said [Douglas Napier], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale-based religious legal organization.”

Christian Post: “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.’ . . . Alan Sears, with the Alliance Defense Fund, has written a great article about this at ColsonCenter.org. He quotes Chai Feldblum, appointed by President Obama to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to Feldblum, ‘Protecting one group’s identity may, at times, require that we burden others’ belief liberty.’”

“In a six to three decision, the justices ruled in favor of the North Central Regional Library, which is an intercounty rural library district with 28 branches in Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, and Okanogan counties.”

Paisley Daily Express: “An election candidate who labelled gay people not normal has been suspended from his job as a teacher at a Renfrewshire primary school. Philp Lardner was due to stand as the Conservative candidate in North Ayrshire and Arran but was dumped by party chiefs after making controversial comments on his website.” | Related post: Dumped by Cameron, now Tory hopeful’s job in peril

Pocono Record: “Those against a proposed ban on churches along the Route 209 commercial district and those favoring expanded zoning for strip clubs both got at least part of what they wanted. Most who testified were far from happy with the document as a whole . . . The new ordinance does take the decision of whether to approve a strip club, adult book store or similar use out of the hands of supervisors. It will be up to the Zoning Board of Appeals to determine if the use and location meet the new requirements.”

Associated Press: “Mary Bonauto, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said in federal court in Boston on Thursday that the law denies gay couples an array of federal benefits, including the financial advantages of filing joint tax returns.”

Robert Lowry Clinton writing at National Review Online: “Thus, Marbury-style judicial review is very limited in scope. It is restricted to cases in which Congress has unconstitutionally meddled with the Court’s functions. This is surely why the case was largely ignored by courts and legal commentators as a precedent for judicial review until the late 19th century. The Court itself didn’t notice that Marbury had anything to do with judicial review until 1887, and even then it misread the case as authorizing judicial review of state law — which Marbury had nothing to do with. It was not until 1895 that the Court first cited Marbury as a precedent for judicial review of national law, despite having invalidated some 20 congressional acts by that time. Stop and think for a moment about what this means: The case that is used as the leading precedent for modern judicial supremacy was not even regarded as an instance of judicial review until 92 years after it was decided!”

OneNewsNow: “An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is encouraging people to weigh in as the period for public comment on the proposed triple-x Internet domain ends Monday . . . ‘I think we’re winning that battle,’ Trueman notes. ‘It doesn’t mean we’ll win the ultimate battle, but the more people we could get to weigh in, the more likely it is that there will not be a porn domain on the Internet where they will have a lot more porn than we’ve ever seen before.’”

ChristianNewsWire: “‘The .XXX domain should be killed and a stake driven through its heart so it never rises again,’ said Patrick Trueman, former U.S. Department of Justice pornography prosecutor. For more than ten years, the promoter of this new porn domain for the Internet has tried to get the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the Internet governing agency, to establish an additional place on the Internet for access to pornography, Trueman noted. ‘Not one sound argument has been put forward for why the world needs more Internet pornography.’”

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley writing at speakupmovement.org/church: “[L]et this case stand as a reminder that as the attacks on the Church in America intensify in the coming days, we must be prepared to meet the attacks head-on. The attacks may come from a variety of sources. In fact, if someone had told me a year ago that a pastor in America would be sentenced to jail for ringing church bells, I would have found the idea amusing to say the least. But the Church can come under attack from almost any conceivable location. And it is our duty to stand ready at the watch for the first signs of those attacks.” | ADF News Release

Chuck Colson: “What would you think if the National Day of Prayer was found unconstitutional, even thought the President of the United States plocaimed how we are ‘Blessed to live in a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles?’ Well, it happened. Watch this week’s Two-Minute Warning by Chuck Colson where he teaches that when religious liberty erodes, so do all other rights.” | In the video below, Colson encourages viewers to read Alan E. Sears‘ recent article for the Colson Center: Securing Liberty.

LifeNews: “The University of Wisconsin may have abandoned plans to install a late-term abortion facility at the at the Madison Surgery Center, but that doesn’t mean the college has abandoned plans for a late-term abortion center entirely . . . UW officials denied it has dropped its controversial plans for a late-term abortion facility, even though MSC may not house the ultimate location . . . Yesterday, ADF indicated it had received a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Justice stating that the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics has abandoned its plans . . . But University of Wisconsin Health issued a statement late in the day saying that’s not the case.” | For more information, see this post: WI: University disputes attorney general on abortion

OneNewsNow: “ADF legal counsel Matt Bowman explains the dispute. ‘In this case, a nurse, Cathy (Cenzon) DeCarlo, was illegally forced to assist [in an] abortion by a hospital that receives hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funds,’ he reports. ‘We filed now two lawsuits against this hospital to make sure that Cathy DeCarlo’s rights are protected.’” | ADF News Release

Sioux City Journal: “The ruling can’t take effect until all appeals are exhausted, but organizers of the local National Day of Prayer event say it only makes tonight’s gathering in Sioux City more meaningful . . . ‘Public officials should be able to participate in public prayer activities just as America’s founders did, and a recent federal judge’s ruling does not prevent America’s cities from lawfully observing the National Day of Prayer,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Mike Johnson] said in a statement.”

The Green Bay Press Gazette has published the same article regarding the Wisconsin DOJ letter obtained by the Alliance Defense Fund–which states that the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics has abandoned its plans to provide full-service, second-trimester abortion services in a jointly operated facility–with two different headlines: (1) University of Wisconsin Health hasn’t dropped plans for abortions at Madison clinic; (2) University disputes attorney general on abortion. Both articles quote UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board Chairman David Walsh who says, “We have not made a decision not to go forward,” and both include this comment from Special Assistant Attorney General Kevin St. John, saying that his department “stands by the letter”: “‘Based on the information that the Department of Justice received from UW prior to writing this letter and information that has been confirmed subsequently, the letter is accurate,’ St. John said.”

The Wisconsin State Journal clarifies the dispute: “The Madison Surgery Center is apparently abandoning plans to offer late-term abortions, with a statewide anti-abortion rights group claiming Wednesday that the decision is due to pressure from its group and others. But officials at UW Health, UW Hospital’s parent organization, issued a statement Wednesday saying it would continue to offer second-trimester abortions. The statement did not mention the Madison Surgery Center, and UW Health declined to clarify or answer questions.”

WorldNetDaily: “ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman said Christians and other pro-life medical students and staff ‘shouldn’t be forced to compromise their beliefs to maintain their positions.’ ‘The UWHC and other medical facilities involved made the right decision to terminate this covert program, which threatened to require pro-life employees to violate their consciences by participating in the killing of preborn, developed babies,’ he said.” | ADF News Release

WorldNetDaily: “There’s a bull’s-eye being hung on Christian prayer right now, and one of the attorneys who wages war for the right of Americans to express their faith publicly says on this 2010 National Day of Prayer it’s because of a national atmosphere that encourages atheists to make their demands. ‘The radical secular, militant atheists are feeling empowered right now,’ [Mike Johnson], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund told WND. The ADF is one of the premiere organizations that fights for civil and religious rights in the United States and is made up of thousands of lawyers who take on cases as they develop.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Vicki McKenna Show to discuss the National Day of Prayer ruling. | MP3 audio file 15:26 mins

CitizenLink: “New York’s Court of Appeals has ruled in two separate cases that the non-biological parent in same-sex relationships should have full parental rights . . . [Tim Tracey], legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said the cases show that even though same-sex marriage is legal only in a handful of states, the issue is affecting all 50. ‘These relationships are bleeding over into other states,’ he said. ‘There’s a real danger there when these things get into the bloodstream.’”

Baptist Press: “‘I think the thing that was the most encouraging was that the court of appeals was clearly focusing on the fundamental question here, and that’s the right to vote,’ lawyer [Austin Nimocks] told Baptist Press after arguing before the court on behalf of supporters of the initiative. ‘And that’s what this case has been about from the very beginning.’”

FOX 11 (AP): “Abortion foes heralded the news Wednesday that the University of Wisconsin has apparently dropped plans to provide late-term abortions at a Madison clinic. The news was first made public by the Alliance Defense Fund, which released a letter dated Friday from the state attorney general’s office saying the university had abandoned its plans for the clinic.”

LifeSiteNews: “Pro-Life Wisconsin (PLW), through the Alliance Defense Fund, announced Wednesday that they have received official confirmation from the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office that the Madison Surgery Center (MSC) has abandoned its plans to perform late-term abortions.” | ADF News Release

Gordon G. Chang writes at Forbes: Chinese leaders these days congratulate themselves for the success of this much-criticized policy, which they credit for preventing up to 300 million births. Yet the program, which remains in effect, has inevitably created demographic abnormalities that cannot be remedied for decades. As Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute writes in the Far Eastern Economic Review, “These problems will compromise economic development, strain social harmony and place the traditional Chinese family structure under severe pressure; in fact, they could shake Chinese civilization to its very foundations.”

Mercury News: “More than 130 years after city leaders made it illegal to appear in public dressed ‘in the attire of a person of the opposite sex,’ Oakland moved Tuesday toward taking a little-known ordinance against cross-dressing off its books.”

AP: “Since U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, critics have declared what they think of her: A Marxist. A moron. A disgrace . . . ”

Peter Baker writes at the NY Times: “The modern war over the Supreme Court arguably began in 1987, when the selection of Robert H. Bork touched off a clash that continues to this day. Ever since his nomination collapsed in an angry ideological confrontation, conservatives and liberals have mobilized forces with regularity to advance or tear down would-be justices . . . ”

FRC: “Daniel L. Dreisbach is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia. He has authored or edited seven books, including The Sacred Rights of Conscience (Liberty Fund, 2009), The Forgotten Founders on Religion and Public Life (Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 2009), and Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State (New York Univ. Press, 2002). He has published over 60 book chapters, reviews, and articles in scholarly journals, including American Journal of Legal History, Constitutional Commentary, Emory Law Journal, Journal of Church and State, North Carolina Law Review, and William and Mary Quarterly.” | Event Flyer

Peter Wehner writes at EPPC: “James Davison Hunter, author of a new book, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World, was recently the speaker at a conference on religion, politics, and public life, hosted by my Ethics and Public Policy Center colleague Michael Cromartie. Professor Hunter’s motivation to write his book grew out of his understandable frustration with the disparity between his understanding of Christian faith and the form of engagement it has taken in politics over the years . . . ”

Chicago Sun Times: “A bid to arm up to 30,000 students in the lowest-performing and most-overcrowded Chicago public schools with vouchers so they could transfer to private schools went down in flames Wednesday amid heavy opposition from teachers unions.”

Heritage Foundation, The Foundry: “In reality, parents probably understand the limitations of social policy better than most academics and policymakers. Rather than obsessing over elusive test score gains, parents seem to have a more nuanced and child-specific set of criteria—they want schools that are safe, that cultivate a positive attitude about learning, and that best fit their children’s abilities and interests. Only school choice programs like MCPS can satisfy these diverse preferences and expectations. Policymakers should not think of school choice as just another tool for satisfying central planners.”

LifeSiteNews: “A Tennessee law opting the state out of the new national health care reform’s abortion mandate went into effect Wednesday, after Democratic governor Phil Bredesen refused to either sign or veto legislation passed by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of Tennessee’s state house.”

“‘Are ‘family values’ undermining the family?’ as one reviewer put it . . . The more you look at this provocative thesis, the more improbable it becomes. The elephant in the room is . . . abortion . . .”

A record four-in-ten births (41%) were to unmarried women in 2008, including most births to women in their early 20s. In 1990, 28% of births were to unmarried women.

AP: “Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Florer v. Congregation Pidyon Shevuyim, (9th Cir., May 5, 2010), the 9th Circuit held that a Jewish organization which had contracted with the Washington Department of Corrections to provide Jewish religious services to prisoners acted under color of state law and not merely as a private party for purposes of a prisoner’s RLUIPA claim.”

Pacific Justice Institute: “Two college students who were disciplined for praying have achieved a settlement that retracts their discipline and pays their attorney’s fees, ending nearly two years of legal wrangling. The incident that ignited the case happened in December 2007 when an instructor at the College of Alameda complained about a private, consensual prayer in a shared faculty office between a student and a sick teacher. The administration swiftly reacted by issuing formal notices of intent to suspend both the student and a fellow bystander student, holding disciplinary hearings, and imposing written warnings . . . ”

Wall Street Journal: “In a move that will stoke a battle over the future of the Internet, the federal government plans to propose regulating broadband lines under decades-old rules designed for traditional phone networks . . . Mr. Genachowski is expected Thursday to outline his plan for regulating broadband lines. He wants to adopt ‘net neutrality’ rules that require Internet providers like Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. to treat all traffic equally, and not to slow or block access to websites.”

NBC: “Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal’s office.
‘They said we could wear it on any other day,” Daniel Galli said, “but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it’s supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today.’”

Assessing the Constitutionality of Reproductive Technologies Regulation: A Bioethical Approach
Elyse Whitney Grant, 61 Hastings L.J. 997 (2010)

“This Note articulates the problems with our current procreative liberty jurisprudence and proposes an alternate framework for balancing individual and States’ rights. First, I argue that precedential case law allows for the construction of a broad procreative liberty interest in accessing reproductive technological information from both preimplantation and prenatal genetic tests. Second, to balance procreative liberty and State interests, I propose the use of an analytical framework based upon Tom Beauchamp and James Childress’s four principles of bioethics: autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and distributive justice. My hope is that these four principles will provide an objective language that the Court can use to articulate its ethical concerns and to create a more transparent dialogue between the liberty and State interests at issue. Lastly, I apply the four principles and speculate about the constitutionality of regulating access to information provided by reproductive technologies.”