Daily Archives: August 31, 2010

“The Pacific Justice Institute petitioned the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento on Monday for an emergency order that would require the two officials to appeal a ruling that overturned Proposition 8.”

On Fox News with Glenn Beck, “David Barton, Founder and President of WallBuilders, explains why the IRS is not pursuing pastors who defiantly preach from the pulpit in manner that is claimed to risk the church’s tax exempt status.”

EuropeNews: “The Italian government has decided to exclude Islam from a bill that would share tax revenues with organized faiths in the country. Fundamentalist imams, polygamy and an overall failure to uphold women’s rights by Muslim immigrants were cited as obstacles for baring Islam from the proposal, which allocates 8 percent of tax revenue and distributes it among organized faiths in the country.”

At the Ruth Institute Blog, Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., provides an excerpt from her contribution to a new book called “Women, Sex & the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching“: “Marriage is a universal human institution, defined—until recently—as the preferred context for both sexual activity and child-rearing. Until the last forty years, every society understood that some contexts for sex and childbearing were preferable to others . . . Over the past forty years, many women have become convinced that marriage is not in their best interest. Some women believe marriage is unnecessary. Others think that it is or has been harmful to them. The views of women like these, orchestrated, I will argue, by socialist and other secular feminists, have been instrumental to weakening the institution of marriage.”

North Carolina Family Policy Council: “Faced with increasing attacks from left-wing groups and their allies, the leaders of over 100 Protestant, Jewish and Catholic religious charities and organizations have added their signatures to a letter to Congress in which they defend the constitutional rights of faith-based groups to make hiring decisions based on religious beliefs. The letter, which was distributed to every member of the U.S. House and Senate on August 25, urges Congress ‘to oppose any effort to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (‘RFRA’), to amend Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, or otherwise to dilute the right of faith-based social service organizations to stay faith-based through their hiring, including when awarded a federal grant.’”

KPTM: “Jeff and Heidi Wilke wanted to submit their daughter’s engagement announcement to the Omaha World Herald – only to find out it’s not allowed – simply because their daughter is gay . . . As of four o’clock Monday afternoon, the Omaha World Herald has restructured their policy.”

Fox 40: “Citing same-sex marriage equality, Senator Roy Ashburn has asked Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a senate bill that would seek to further define the separation of church and state and would afford churches who refuse to perform same-sex marriages protection when it came to their tax-exempt status.”

Reuters: “The Hamas armed wing said it would carry out more operations after claiming a shooting on Tuesday which killed four Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.”

“The Justice Department today asked a federal judge in Washington to stay his ruling this month that blocks the government from funding research that involves human embryonic stem cells.”

Miami Herald: “An unidentified gunman killed four Israelis at a Jewish settlement near the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday night, just days before the U.S.-sponsored peace summit was set to begin in Washington. The military wing of the Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, claimed responsibility.”

Robert Spencer writing at Human Events: “Bloomberg may be getting more out of this than just the glow of moral sanctity—billions more, in fact, courtesy his business dealings in Muslim countries . . . raising more pointed questions are Bloomberg’s increasing business dealings in the Islamic world . . . Grauer revealed that while Bloomberg was taking a bath worldwide, business was booming in the Middle East: ‘Despite the difficulties faced by the financial sector in the economic turmoil, our terminal sales in the region grew by 2% in the past nine months, when globally we faced a major setback.’”

Washington Post: “The Justice Department filed another lawsuit against immigration practices by Arizona authorities, saying Monday that a network of community colleges acted illegally in requiring noncitizens to provide their green cards before they could be hired for jobs.” Via Mark Krikorian at The Corner

ChristianNewsWire: “Troubled abortionist Steven Chase Brigham has been issued a cease and desist order by the Maryland State Board of Physicians ordering him to stop the illegal practice of medicine, including abortions, at five locations throughout Maryland because he does not and never has been licensed in that state.”

Catholic Culture: “Three American Christians who were providing humanitarian relief in the flood-ravaged Swat valley in northern Pakistan were murdered on August 24 or 25, according to local sources. The Fides news agency described the murder of the volunteers as a ‘brutal execution.’”

Associated Press: “The dispute ‘has expanded beyond a piece of real estate and expanded to Islam in America and what it means for America,’ Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told a group that included professors and policy researchers in Dubai.”

E. Christian Brugger, Ph.D. writing at The Culture of Life Foundation: “The ideas of the young international movement known as ‘transhumanism’ are beginning to characterize the thinking of an increasing number of clinicians and bioethicists. I thought therefore that our readers might profit from a brief introduction to them . . . Technology is now making possible interventions that in addition to a therapeutic aim are intended to augment healthy human capacities.”

Chuck Colson writing at The Christian Post: “Many people mistakenly assume using the Bible in a public school is prohibited by law. But in fact, the Supreme Court has actually endorsed using the Bible in public schools . . . And because introducing the Bible to public school students is academically expected and legally supported, our friends at Gateways to Better Education have written a one-page document entitled ‘School District Guidelines for the Use of Bible Stories in The Classroom.’ Gateways is a national ministry with expertise in the much-needed work of equipping Christian parents and teachers in the public schools.”

Manchester Evening News: “Christian protesters who picketed the Pride parade could be banned from the streets during next year’s event. Council chiefs are outraged that around 20 placard-waving demonstrators – many from the conservative pressure group Christian Voice – were allowed to disrupt the event.”

Earned Media: “Personhood Colorado and Colorado Right to Life, co-sponsors of Colorado’s Personhood Amendment 62, have discovered that their only opposition, ‘Protect Families Protect Choices’, is backed by none other than abortion profiteer Planned Parenthood . . . ‘Our opposition is relying on scare tactics to frighten voters,’ explained Leslie Hanks, co-sponsor of Amendment 62. ‘For example, NARAL’s claims about miscarriages and ectopic pregnancy are patently false.’”

Ekklesia: “The joint synod of Italy’s Waldensian and Methodist Protestant churches has, as the denominations’ highest governing body, agreed to authorise the blessing of same-sex couples in church under certain conditions.”

Bernard Kouchner, foreign minister of France; Katsuya Okada, foreign minister of Japan; Charles Michel, development cooperation minister of Belgium writing at The Christian Science Monitor: “We are determined to find an effective way to finance development that would be alongside – and not in place of – public aid. In a world marked by substantial gaps in development and standards of living, we must promote innovative approaches and instruments . . . We approached the top specialists – legal scholars, economists, researchers, and even bankers – to analyze the different options. They proposed several different mechanisms for levies on financial transactions, including on foreign exchange movements (currency transaction development tax).”

BBC: “Mr Blunt, who is prisons minister in the coalition government, said he had ‘decided to come to terms with his homosexuality’.”

“The 5th Texas Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a Dallas judge didn’t have jurisdiction to grant a divorce to two Dallas men who wed in Massachusetts. The court also says Texas’ same-sex marriage ban is constitutional.”

Inquirer.net: “The government has started implementing a new family planning marketing strategy designed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) . . . The US Embassy in Manila has acknowledged Washington’s active role in the Philippine government’s family planning initiatives.”

Beverly Willett writing at The Daily Beast: “No-fault assumes that removing choice from the equation will lead to less acrimony, but that’s too simplistic. It assumes the only reason parties would ever hold up a divorce is to angle for money. It tosses aside the notion that one might want to stay married because of one’s pledge, or for the sake of the children . . . Governor Paterson commended New York’s legislature for ‘fix[ing] a broken process.’ But no-fault isn’t the answer. It won’t cure our national preoccupation with searching for happiness in greener pastures–the root cause of rampant divorce–any more than a fault-based system of divorce can. We’ve created a happiness culture without understanding what that means or how to achieve it. Ditch your spouse and eat, pray, love your way to the next one.”

New York Times / Economix: “There were 13.5 births per 1,000 people last year, compared to a rate of 13.9 births per 1,000 people in 2008. In 2007, the rate was 14.3 births . . . The marriage and divorce rates also fell in 2009. The center estimates that there were 6.8 marriages per 1,000 people in 2009, after a rate of 7.1 and 7.3 marriages per 1,000 people in 2008 and 2007, respectively.”

Arizona Republic: “Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas conceded Tuesday to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in the Republican primary for Arizona attorney general.”

Denver Post: “As kids head back to school, conservative Christian media ministry Focus on the Family perceives a bully on the playground: national gay-advocacy groups. School officials allow these outside groups to introduce policies, curriculum and library books under the guise of diversity, safety or bullying-prevention initiatives, said Focus on the Family education expert Candi Cushman . . . Public schools increasingly convey that homosexuality is normal and should be accepted, Cushman said, while opposing viewpoints by conservative Christians are portrayed as bigotry.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of London-based Barclays Plc, is offering Shariah-compliant repurchase agreements to allow Islamic banks and investors manage their funds. Barclays introduced the product worldwide two weeks ago and is focusing on clients in Malaysia and the Middle East, where the largest Islamic financial institutions are based, Harris Irfan, the bank’s Dubai-based head of Islamic finance products, said in an interview.”

AllAfrica.com: “New Islamic financing tax laws were likely to attract more foreign investors to SA, Tasneem Gangat, a tax consultant at Grant Thornton, said yesterday. The proposed new laws would bring several types of Islamic financing transactions into the tax net and bolster SA’s gross domestic product (GDP), she said. By giving recognition to Islamic investors, SA would be on a par with other global jurisdictions.”

Dr. Jim Garlow writing at Renewing American Leadership: “If I may, allow me to state how I dealt with the issue of evangelical-Mormon working partnerships during the Prop 8 battle here in California . . . [In a WSJ interview] my quote was simply, ‘As evangelicals and Mormons, we are not theological brothers and sisters. But we are friends and neighbors. And on that basis we work together to defend marriage’ . . . That became the mantra for our Prop 8 work together. Mormons make up 2% of the California population, yet contributed at least 40% of the funds to defend marriage. Of the workers that knocked on doors and called homes, I suspect that the LDS church provided the lion’s share of the workers.”

Saudi Gazette: “Islamic finance is a trillion dollar industry and has become a part of the global financial system. The industry represents around 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide as well as non-Muslim investors seeking to diversify their portfolio. Institutional and private investors look to tap into a market that may reach a staggering $5 trillion, according to forecasts by rating agency Moody’s.”

“‘More and more conservatives are saying that opposition to gay marriage would not be a litmus test for membership in the GOP,’ Schmidt added.”

Roger Scruton writing at Big Questions Online: “Everybody has an opinion about what we ought to do to fix our dreadful financial situation. Here’s a thought: why not listen to Muhammad? True, the Prophet did not hold an economics degree, nor was he a fixture on noisy cable chat shows about finance. Times have changed since the seventh century. But Muhammad knew a thing or two about human nature, which has not changed . . . The theory of refinancing and sovereign debt fills many a volume of innocent-seeming graphs and statistics. But this should not blind us to the truth that dawned on the Prophet, which is that we have another and truer way of perceiving these matters: the way of moral judgment. If you borrow money, you are obliged to repay it. And you should repay it by earning the sum required, and not by borrowing again, and then again, and then again. For some reason, when it comes to the state and its clients, those elementary moral truths are forgotten.”

11 Alive: “The gathering came two days after a fire of suspicious origin damaged construction equipment at the site of the planned mosque. Federal investigators are still looking into the cause. Organizers said the vigil was intended to encourage mosque supporters and opponents to demonstrate for a community free of violence, arson and other such activities . . . On the outskirts a small but vocal group of mosque opponents made their presence known.”

Fox News / Live Shots: “The New York Post first reported that 45 Park Place Partners owed $224,270.77 in back real estate taxes and penalties, and that debt is growing by the day. The city charges an interest rate of 18 percent. The latest check of city records has upped the money owed by another $3,000, and unless someone writes a check and soon, the bill will continue to increase.”

Bloomberg: “Emirates NBD PJSC of Dubai is waiving payments on personal loans for the holy month of Ramadan. Maybank Islamic Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur started automating charitable donations. Jakarta-based PT Bank Syariah Mandiri sponsors a television slot teaching Islamic banking. Marketing campaigns aimed at reminding the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims to follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad that ban receiving interest have increased as the global economy recovers this year, according to the Pan Arab Research Center in Dubai.”

BusinessWeek: “Leading Islamic finance scholars are preparing the first global certification for Shariah experts, seeking to bolster the industry’s reputation and make it easier for banks to find qualified advisers. The International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance in Kuala Lumpur will pick a board of regulators by year- end to issue permits for scholars qualified to sit on Shariah boards, said Aznan Hasan, the president of the oversight committee. The scholars decide whether financial products meet the religion’s precepts, including a ban on interest payments.”

Warner Todd Huston writing at Chicago Now: “With the shocking report by Christine Brim revealing that the folks involved in planning the Ground Zero Mosque are heading a major push to get Shariah law forced upon the United States, one has to wonder why this startling fact has not become the talk of the town among the Old Media and the chattering classes? One would think that this news would be a final nail the coffin of legitimacy that this GZ Mosque plan ever had.”

See also: Hidden Purpose of Ground Zero Mosque Exposed?

Judith Reisman writing at WorldNetDaily: “Ah, change. We get an Arab mosque near Ground Zero and Iraqis get American pornography in Baghdad . . . The AP reporter hee-haws at the retail of female hate propaganda (pornography) by savvy young Iraqi bestial pushers. If Arab buyers find blondes too expensive, Hanoun offers ‘Cheap Meat.’ What is that? Why, ‘Syrian, Egyptian, Lebanese girls . . . all the Arabs.’ He also sells ‘movies of amateur Arab couples’ . . . Is this the ‘freedom’ envisioned by our Founding Fathers?”

Don Feder writing at WorldNetDaily: “Beck is one of a growing number of conservative opinion makers who are either agnostic on the issue or have decided to earn tolerance-points with the establishment by backing here-come-the-grooms . . . This unwillingness to fight for the family, on which civilization depends, is another sign of the failure of modern conservatism. The right can win a thousand battles against big government and lose the war for America’s future, if it surrenders on marriage and the family. America’s social traumas – illegitimacy, juvenile crime, drug abuse, female-headed-households – can all be traced back to the decline of the family . . .”

LifeSiteNews: “The Alliance of Romania’s Families, a group headed by prominent Christian leaders and intellectuals of Romania’s Christian community, have launched a manifesto of Christian conscience. The effort is patterned on similar actions taken by U.S., UK, and Australian Christians which have resulted in the Manhattan Declaration, Westminster Declaration, and the Canberra Declaration.” Related: Benjamin Bull: The Manhattan Declaration . . . Romanian style

LifeSiteNews: “A study of women who had abortions has found that women undergoing later abortions face increased psychological risks, are more likely to be ambivalent about having an abortion and are more likely to need counseling and support. The study, ‘Late-Term Elective Abortion and Susceptibility to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms,’ was published in the August issue of the Journal of Pregnancy.”

Late-Term Elective Abortion and Susceptibility to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms
Priscilla K. Coleman, Catherine T. Coyle, and Vincent M. Rue

Thomas Sowell writing at Townhall: “The proposed mosque near where the World Trade Center was attacked and destroyed, along with thousands of American lives, would be a 15-story middle finger to America . . . Can anyone in his right mind believe that this was intended to show solidarity with Americans, rather than solidarity with those who attacked America? Does anyone imagine that the Middle East nations, including Iran, from whom financial contributions will be solicited, want to promote reconciliation between Americans and Muslims?”

LifeSiteNews: “Members in both chambers of U.S. Congress are angling to alter federal law in order to undermine a district court judge’s temporary injunction that effectively puts a stop to the onset of taxpayer-funded embryonic stem-cell research.”

Associated Press: “A divisive plan to build a casino near the site of the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg is in the mold of many other communities that have successfully meshed gambling with historical tourist destinations, the developer told state regulators Tuesday.”

Los Angeles Times: “Almost one in eight federal judgeships is vacant in the country and legal scholars warn that the increasingly politicized confirmation process threatens the administration of justice across the nation . . . Republicans and conservative analysts say the stalled pace of ‘replenishment’ is part payback for congressional Democrats’ efforts to scuttle some Bush nominees and part indifference on the part of President Obama, who they say has been slow to nominate judges.”

USA Today: “The case has grown beyond a single clash between a devastated father and an attention-seeking, fire-and-brimstone group into a major test of speech rights and of safeguards for the sanctity of military funerals. The Supreme Court will hear the case Oct. 6, a crucial First Amendment challenge against the poignant backdrop of war deaths, family suffering and the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve — as long as their sexual orientation remains secret.”

Associated Press: “U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Monday her Republican rival Joe Miller may be creating doubt in the minds of Alaskans about the integrity of the voting process by ratcheting up the hyperbole about possible election fraud.”

Associated Press: “Federal officials say a JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in Nebraska should provide Muslim employees with prayer time and not retaliate against workers who ask to pray.”

Associated Press: “An administration official said Tuesday seven states suing the federal government are among 16 already approved for subsidies to help with the health care costs of early retirees. The seven are Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Nevada. The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Tuesday’s official announcement.”

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “Churches have complete freedom to encourage their parishioners and other folks to vote, so long as it’s done in a non-partisan fashion. In addition to passing out voter registration packets at services, churches can even do such things as have booths at fairs. That’s actually one of the specific things the IRS says is OK in its Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations.”

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “This decision [in Spence v. World Vision] brings the Ninth Circuit in line with several others such as the Eleventh in Atlanta and the Third in Philadelphia. What’s remarkable is the court went even further than its sister circuits when making this ruling. For instance, in holding that World Vision falls under the Title VII’s exemption for religious organizations, the court said that the First Amendment would require such an exemption, even if Title VII didn’t provide for it. It’s encouraging to know that even if Congress attempts to narrow the law to only apply to churches, para-church ministries like World Vision are still protected by the Constitution.”

LifeNews: “The Obama administration is expected to officially appeal later this week a federal judge’s decision to halt President Barack Obama’s executive order forcing Americans to fund embryonic stem cell research through their tax dollars . . . ‘The American people should not be forced to pay for experiments — prohibited by federal law — that destroy human life,’ ADF Attorney Steve Aden] said. ‘The court is simply enforcing an existing law passed by Congress that prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos.’”

LA Times: “Frederick Ohlrich is clerk of the California Supreme Court — its keeper of records, its historian and its biggest fan. If you’re a lawyer preparing to address the justices, he has some tips for you.”

The Hill: “The 50 wealthiest lawmakers were worth almost $1.4 billion in 2009, about $85.1 million more than 12 months earlier, according to The Hill’s annual review of lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms.”

Austrian Independent: “Austria’s first transsexual teacher has been given the all clear to work by the education ministry after a sex change operation.”

Eurasianet: “For all their fear, however, the pair embarked on a radical experiment, launching the first-ever magazine for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) Kurds this July. Called ‘Hevjin’, meaning ‘intercommunity’ in Kurdish, the first issue of the free publication is available online and in a few bookshops and cafés in Diyarbakir, a city with a large Kurdish population.”

Straight Talk: The Implications of Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Rationale for Preserving Aspects of the Current Policy
Major Sherilyn A. Bunn, 203 Mil. L. Rev. 207 (2010)

“This article contemplates a range of issues surrounding the possible repeal of DADT. Part II explores the scope and inherent limitations of any change to the current policy. While some presume that elimination of DADT will automatically invalidate various military administrative and criminal provisions, this part considers the fundamental difference between statements, acts, or marriage–the inconsistent and incomparable behaviors now prohibited by DADT. For example, the momentum surrounding the repeal efforts have centered around those servicemembers subject to separation merely for openly stating their sexual preference–those who claim that they must lie about themselves in order to serve. These debates have not touched upon a servicemember’s right to sexually proposition another member of the same sex, display homosexual pornography, or engage in sexual acts now prohibited by a wide array of criminal statutes that are equally applicable to heterosexual servicemembers. Here, especially, it is naive to assume that a statement of one’s identity automatically is part-in-parcel with deliberate and calculated physical conduct.”