Daily Archives: May 7, 2010

Irish Examiner: “The House of Deputies approved same-sex marriage by an ample margin and sent the legislation for consideration in the Senate. President Cristina Fernandez promised not to veto the measure if it reaches her desk.”

Providence Journal: “Drawing the attention was a bill sponsored by Rep. Timothy A. Williamson, D-West Warwick, that would allow couples to divorce in Rhode Island even if they were not eligible to marry here . . . Rhode Island does not allow same-sex marriages, but same-sex couples can be married in neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut.” | HB 7990

KTVZ: “A federal judge has upheld the new Oregon workplace meetings law prohibiting employers from firing workers who refuse to attend meetings to discuss politics, religious matters or union organizing.”

Associated Oregon Industries v. Avakian, No. 09-1494-MO (D. Ore. May 6, 2010)

ORS 659.785

Drug Watch: “On May 6, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Natazia (estradiol valerate/dienogest), a new type of combination birth control pill marketed by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Yasmin and Yaz. Natazia has been marketed as Qlaira in Europe since May 2009, and the U.S. version of the oral contraceptive will be available by summer 2010.”

Christian Today: “The result of yesterday’s General Election is a hung Parliament in which the Conservatives are the largest party. The Conservatives had secured 291 seats, significantly short of the 326 needed for the Parliamentary majority that would give them the keys to 10 Downing Street.Labour were trailing with 248 seats, while the Liberal Democrats had a disappointing night which saw them return 51 MPs.”

CCFON: “Former Liberal Democrat MP and front-bench spokesman Dr Evan Harris has been unseated in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency by Nicola Blackwood, in what is a significant development for both Christians and the political world.”

National Review Online | Phi Beta Cons: “The New York Times is reporting that Marquette University, a Catholic institution, has come under fire after recsinding an offer it made to an openly gay woman to become dean of one of its colleges. The university stated that, after making an offer ‘prematurely,’ they came to the realization that the individual in question lacked ‘the ability to represent the Marquette mission and identity.’”

Daily Mirror: “Prime Minister D.M. Jayarathna said a General Fund would be established for the development of Buddhist temples and other religious places throughout the Island.”

Dallas Voice (“premier media source for LGBT Texas”): “A fitness center owned by Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas won’t allow same-sex couples to sign up for family memberships, a possible violation of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance that’s prompted calls for a boycott of the facility.”

LifeSiteNews: “Kagan is known for strongly favoring taxpayer funded abortion, and is a critic of the 1991 Supreme Court decision Rust v. Sullivan, which upheld federal regulations prohibiting Title X family planning fund recipients from counseling on or referring for abortion. Americans United for Life also reports that Kagan once suggested that faith-based groups operating pregnancy care centers should not counsel pregnant youths, for fear that they would include their religious beliefs in the counseling process . . . CBS News, declared that Kagan would be the “first openly gay justice” on the U.S. Supreme Court . . . ”

Ilya Somin writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: “Conservative blogger Paul Mirengoff and liberal law professor Paul Campos argue that Elena Kagan is poorly qualified for the Supreme Court because of what they argue is a weak record of scholarship. Mirengoff expresses incredulity that ‘you could publish so little and still become the dean of a major law school.’ I have a much higher opinion of Kagan’s scholarship than Campos and Mirengo.”

The Guardian: “The former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, today backed the saying of prayers before council meetings as a pressure group prepared to launch a legal battle on the issue . . . The National Secular Society has intervened in a long-running controversy over the saying of prayers at Bideford and is to seek a judicial review, arguing the practice breaches the European convention on human rights. It hopes that if it wins its case, hundreds of other councils will be forced to stop prayers.”

CNA: “Couples who use natural family planning almost never divorce,” she pointed out. “The divorce rate at tops, we think is around 4%.”

PR Newswire: “According to the latest American Workplace Insights survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Adecco Staffing US, part of the world’s largest recruitment and workforce solutions provider, 30% of working moms(1) in America today are the sole breadwinners of their household. However, being the sole provider may not be out of choice. In fact, nearly half (52%) of moms would stay at home with their kids if they had the means/opportunity to do so.”

Tampabay.com: “‘It is my hope that Governor Crist will come down on the side of life, and sign HB 1143 into law, or at least allow it to become law without his signature,’ Rubio said in a statement.”

Albert Mohler writes at the Christian Post: “When the controversy about Franklin Graham’s statements hit the first round of public controversy, I was asked to appear on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor to discuss the controversy. I did, pointing out that what Franklin Graham said about the exclusivity of the gospel is nothing other than classic Christianity. Evangelical Christians in the United States had better see a big challenge staring us in the face. Franklin Graham was disinvited by the Pentagon for making statements that are required by faithfulness to the gospel of Christ . . . ”

Christian Post: “Muslims who kidnapped and forcibly converted an 18-year-old Christian woman to Islam severely beat her mother on two occasions to discourage her from trying to recover her daughter, lawyers said.”

CNSNews: “‘One seems to have compiled a pretty solid record as a D.C. circuit judge,’ Whelan said. ‘I’m speaking of Merrick Garland, who’s nowhere like the sort of jurist that would be on my short list, and there’s no question that he would be on the wrong side of a lot of issues, but he does seem to be at least a much more modest judge than some of the others who are on President Obama’s list . . . ‘Look, what we need are nine justices who are faithful to the Constitution. There is no reason why any seat should stay bad simply because it has been bad,’ he said . . . ”

“A Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that charter schools created by the state Georgia Charter Schools Commission are constitutional.”

NC Family Council via Insider Online: “In an effort to highlight the important results of this ongoing research, Family North Carolina will feature a regular segment dedicated to the Mapping America Project (MAP) in every issue. In this issue, we focus on the latest MAP reports devoted to the positive effects on adults of growing up in an intact family that worshipped regularly, as well as the positive effects on adults of being married and attending religious services regularly. The following findings are excerpted from reports compiled by researchers at the Mapping America Project, except where otherwise noted.”

Metro Weekly: “At the beginning of the Obama administration, the project worked to get qualified LGBT candidates into full-time appointments. Now, more than a year into the administration, the project has taken a slightly new tack, recently announcing a push to promote LGBT candidates for the many unpaid presidential appointments to boards and commissions.”

The FEC has found that there is no reason to believe the Iowa Christian Alliance, president Steve Scheffler, or board chairman and treasurer Morris Hurd violated the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Politico: “Look for President Obama to name his Supreme Court pick Monday, and look for it to be Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a former Harvard Law dean. The pick isn’t official, but top White House aides will be shocked if it’s otherwise.”

ADF attorney David Hacker writes at Speak Up Movement: University: “But Eugene Volokh points out that a publisher is placing the following disclaimer on all its books, including its pocket Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation . . . ”

New American: “New Hampshire Governor John Lynch said he is proud of having signed the state’s same-sex marriage law last year and will fight any effort by ‘the forces of discrimination and division’ to repeal it.”

FirstCoastNews.com: – “Americans 45 and older are far more open to sex outside of marriage than they were 10 years ago, but they’re engaging in sex less often and with less satisfaction, according to a major new survey . . . ”

Think Progress: “Yesterday, lawmakers in Kansas proposed a new way to stigmatize abortion and place it out of reach of even more lower income women: taxing it. David Klepper of the Kansas Star reports that State Sen. Mary Pilcher (R) introduced the measure as an alternative revenue raiser . . . ”

Radio Iowa: “Senator Merlin Bartz, a Republican from Grafton, says it appears to him that the Department of Natural Resources wants to make gay couples eligible for family camping at state parks. “They’re citing the Supreme Court case and changing, you know, ‘husband and wife’ language to ’spouse,’” Bartz says.”

“A federal appeals court in Washington today dismissed as moot a challenge to the religious components of last year’s inaugural ceremony, including the inaugural prayer and presidential oath, and the court said the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the 2013 and 2017 inaugurations.”

ADF Attorney David French writing at speakupmovement.org/university: “For some time after the Massachusetts decision, I supported legalizing same-sex marriage — or, to be more precise, I did not oppose its legalization. Why? I can basically sum it up in one sentence. I have a strong libertarian streak and was completely fed up with the cavalier way in which the Christian community treated its own marriage vows. But I was wrong. No, I wasn’t wrong that Christians have their own marriage problem. That much is obvious. I was wrong in believing that there was essentially ‘no harm, no foul’ legally or culturally in recognizing ‘gay marriage.’ I was wrong to believe that the proper response to the damage to done to the institution of marriage was to essentially throw our hands up and allow even further damage. And I was definitely wrong to believe that legalizing same-sex marriage — as a practical matter — is a libertarian decision in the real world.”

Pasadena Star-News: “Usually fairly subdued, the event, along with the city’s Day of Prayer at the Rose Bowl, triggered some concern among city officials this year, following a U.S. District Court judge’s ruling in Wisconsin last month that the National Day of Prayer violates the constitutional separation of church and state. That prompted Mayor Bill Bogaard to write to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which provides legal defense and advocacy for religious causes, to make sure the breakfast and prayer day could be held legally. ‘You can be confident that your participation in and acknowledgment of the National Day of Prayer are constitutionally protected activities,’ wrote ADF attorney [J. Michael Johnson] in an April 30 response.”

Medical News Today: “The University of Wisconsin’s health system on Wednesday clarified that it is moving forward with plans to offer abortions from 19 to 22 weeks’ gestation at a Madison surgery center, after a letter from a state Justice Department attorney last week suggested otherwise, the AP/CNBC reports . . . The letter was first circulated by the Alliance Defense Fund, which opposes abortion rights.” | For more information, see this post: University of Wisconsin to find another location for late-term abortion center

“Politicizing the military may be acceptable to those who are willing to place their agenda over the First Amendment, but chaplains will not allow the Good News to become a politically-correct gospel.”

OneNewsNow: “‘Bishop Rick Painter’s conviction for ringing his church bells has been overturned by the state court,’ Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney [Erik Stanley] reports. ‘This comes on the heels of a federal court decision where the federal court in Phoenix decided that the Phoenix noise ordinance was unconstitutional as it had been applied to prohibit the ringing of church bells in Phoenix,’ he adds.”

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.”

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.”

Springfield News-Leader: “More than 900 people gathered for the 22nd National Day of Prayer Breakfast in Springfield Thursday morning, with similar events planned around the Ozarks . . . Another defender of a presumed historical connection between the United States and religion is Springfield lawyer Dee Wampler, who brought his message of the ‘myth of separation between church and state’ to a similar event in nearby Eureka Springs, Ark. Wampler is a member of the Alliance Defense Fund, which sent letters to mayors around the country assuring them it is OK to observe the National Day of Prayer despite a recent ruling by a Wisconsin federal judge.”

The Joplin Globe: “Groups gathered Thursday at the Dr. Donald E. Clark Public Safety and Justice Center in Joplin and at the Praying Hands Monument in Webb City to celebrate the National Day of Prayer by praying for their cities and country . . . ‘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.”

LifeSiteNews: “ADF legal counsel [Matt Bowman] noted in an email published by Jill Stanek that ‘the UW now admits that they are planning these abortions secretly. Therefore the UW Hospital’s statement says that it is now officially engaged in an abortion cover-up.’ ‘The UWHCA board is appointed by the legislature, they had a public hearing about this plan, and in 2009 they denied they had concocted the plan in secret,’ he continued. ‘But now the UW Hospital claims it can withhold information from the public about doing late-term abortions, and avoid public scrutiny about whether they will comply with a multitude of federal and state laws.’”

Mary Ellen Kelly writing at First Things | First Thoughts: “[Matt Bowman] of the Alliance Defense Fund tells LifeSiteNews.com that both New York law and federal law ‘make it illegal for a regulated hospital to force objecting employees in any circumstances to assist abortions. There is no exception letting the hospital sometimes coerce pro-life health professionals when it wants to, such as if the abortion doctor thinks the abortion is necessary.’ As Bowman also points out, ‘The reason these laws don’t sometimes allow coercion . . . is because abortion doctors believe all abortions are medically necessary.’”

“In my view, the root of the problem (in addition to the obvious irresponsible spending habits of most government officials) is demographic in nature; the easiest way to hint at the scale of the predicament is to look at projected population charts . . . ”

Reuters: “Israel has no plan to review its nuclear policies, a government official said on Friday, playing down efforts by world powers at a U.N. non-proliferation conference to promote a Middle East free of atomic arms.”

Pat Buchana writes at Townhall: “Are Europe and America headed to where Athens is today? To answer the question, consider what brought Greece to where she is . . . ”

FoxNews: “Tensions are rising at a California high school where five students were sent home for wearing American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo . . . Police have been told to be on alert for gang-related retaliation against the boys, according to Ken Jones, whose stepson, Daniel Galli, was one of the students who refused to turn their T-shirts inside-out when asked by a vice principal on Wednesday . . . ”

Wall Street Journal: “Last-minute maneuvering in the Senate allowed the Federal Reserve to sidestep legislation that would have exposed its interest-rate decision-making to congressional auditor.”

ABC: Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett is in danger of losing his job on Saturday when the state GOP holds a convention to determine the party’s 2010 Senate nominee. Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, looks on during a Washington press conference in September 2008. The Utah Republican Party is holding its convention Saturday and Bennett faces conservative challenges to get onto the primary ballot. ‘The anger is palpable,’ Bennett told CNN on Thursday. ‘The anger’s very strong and that’s why I am in trouble.’”"

Here are summaries of the four people believed to be finalists for the Stevens seat, and a list of arguments for and against their nominations . . . ”

Boston Globe: “‘I think the Obama administration, if they believe the statute is unconstitutional — which it clearly is — does not have a duty to defend it. In fact, they have a duty not to defend it,’’ Shannon P. Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who took a flight from San Francisco to attend the arguments, said afterward.”

Union-Leader.com: “The New Hampshire Supreme Court extended many of the free press rights of newspapers to websites yesterday, ruling that a site that ranks and criticizes mortgage companies is a news organization and should not have been ordered to remove a leaked document.”

More reports and the opinion linked at How Appealing.

Sen. Jeff Sessions writes at the Washington Post: “The breathtaking expansion of government — highlighted by record federal spending and a dramatic new federal role in the health-care system — is a source of deep concern across the political spectrum. People are increasingly worried that Washington is exceeding the limits set by the Constitution, asserting too large a role in American life . . . ”

“Senator Orrin Hatch said he had known the federal appeals court judge, seen as a leading contender for the Supreme Court, for years and that he would be ‘a consensus nominee. . . . I have no doubts that Garland would get a lot of (Senate) votes. And I will do my best to help him get them,’ added Hatch, a former Judiciary Committee chairman.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Washington state, objection to alleged anti-Muslim bias of one of the sponsoring groups has led to cancellation of a planned April 29 web-based seminar on security technology for law enforcement officers . . . ”

AP: “Net neutrality, as it’s known, is the idea that the Internet should be like roads and highways – generally open to all traffic.”

AP: “But the Supreme Administration Court said Friday that the rights to assembly and expression are guaranteed by the European Convention and the government is obligated to defend them . . . ”

NewsRadio 740: “Yesterday, a listener’s son was offended that his school, Klein Collins High School, displayed the Mexican flag prominently. His mother called to complain, and the school wouldn’t return her call. The student took the sign down . . . ”

NBCBayArea.com: “Some parents of students at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill are keeping their kids home from school after tension related to an incident involving students wearing American flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo spilled out onto the streets . . . The school district’s superintendant directly addressed parents Thursday in a letter posted on the school’s website and also sent as a voicemail . . . ”