Daily Archives: September 20, 2010

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: “Americans United for Separation of Church and State and allied groups have asked a federal appellate court to reconsider a decision dealing with religious bias in hiring at publicly funded ‘faith-based’ charities. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that World Vision, an evangelical Christian relief agency, had the right to fire workers who hold views that conflict with the agency’s religious viewpoint.”

CNSNews: “Washington (CNSNews.com) – Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C) said it could take years to repeal the Democrats’ $1-trillion health care overhaul mandating the individual purchase of health insurance.”

FOX News: “An amendment from Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., to end a longstanding ban on abortions at U.S. military hospitals overseas is attached to the defense authorization bill set to come up for a vote in the Senate. The move has been widely opposed by social conservatives and only further complicates the debate over the defense spending package. Senate Democrats already have drawn the ire of Republicans by trying to add to the bill measures to repeal the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy banning gays from serving openly in the military and provide young illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military a pathway to citizenship.”

Iowa Independent: “The Iowa Catholic Conference, the political and policy arm of the state’s four Catholic dioceses, announced Monday that it is urging Iowans to convene a constitutional convention in order to eventually ban same-sex marriage.”

Susan Wills, assistant director for education and outreach, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, writing at LifeNews: “Planned Parenthood is organizing a national effort to have contraceptives included among the free ‘preventive services’ health plans must provide under the new health care reform law (Press Release, 7-14-10) . . . But prescription contraceptives don’t prevent or screen for disease. Their purpose is to block the normal functioning of a healthy reproductive system. They prevent a person from being conceived or born.”

Ross Douthat writing at his New York Times blog: “Can we officially retire the notion that liberals don’t like the culture war? That it’s something foisted on them by knuckle-dragging conservatives? That they would prefer to only talk about Very Serious Economic Policies, and that they hate the way the right wing keeps dragging the conversation around to sex and God and all the rest of it? . . . With Christine O’Donnell, as with Sarah Palin before her, American liberals have been confronted with a politician who’s vulnerable to all sorts of possible attacks . . . And what do liberals want to talk about? Why, her decade-old comments on masturbation, of course! . . . [I]t’s a sign that in their heart of hearts, liberals love the culture wars too.”

USCCB: “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should not require coverage of contraception or sterilization in group and individual health plans as part of ‘preventive’ services for women, said representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as HHS continued its deliberations on a final list of required preventive services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).”

Peter Sprigg writing at Townhall: “Let’s hope that these senators understand the latter issue better than U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips, who recently declared the 1993 law unconstitutional . . . First, the issue is homosexual conduct, not ‘identity’ . . . Second, the issue is homosexual conduct, not speech . . . Finally, the issue is homosexual conduct, not heterosexual reactions.”

Reuters: “Authorities in almost all of Mexico’s conservative states have fought back against Mexico City’s abortion policies, among the most permissive in largely Catholic Latin America, by making examples of specific women and tightening laws . . . While jail terms for illegal abortions are between six months and three years in most Mexican states, activists.”

FOX News: “What should have been a routine budget bill for the Pentagon is now a political cauldron brimming with proposed policy changes over abortion, gay rights and illegal immigration. Senate Democrats have folded, or attempted to fold, all those issues into a single defense package, leading to accusations that the Senate is needlessly politicizing its annual obligation to fund the military.”

“A gay couple in Yellowknife have been awarded $13,400 in compensation because a landlord would not rent them an apartment on the basis of their sexual orientation . . . ”

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: “A Republican lawmaker says it is time to remove from the books an obsolete Montana law declaring homosexual acts illegal. State Sen. John Brueggeman says he is requesting a draft of a bill to strike down the law. The bill would be considered by the 2011 Legislature, which convenes in January.”

“The question is, whether we should be voting on [DADT repeal] before we have the benefit of the comprehensive review that President Obama’s Secretary of Defense ordered in March.”

ADF Attorney David J. Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “In a disappointing setback for college student free speech, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled late Friday that Jonathan Lopez does not have standing to challenge the Los Angeles Community College District’s speech code on its face (ADF represents Mr. Lopez) . . . Despite the fact that Lopez must comply with the harassment policy at all times on campus, the Ninth Circuit ruled that he did not have legal standing to pursue his challenge to the facial overbreadth of the policy. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling creates a circuit split with the Third Circuit, which ruled in McCauley v. University of the Virgin Islands (August 2010) that a college student could challenge the facial validity of his university’s speech code even though the code was never applied to silence his speech and even though the student admitted he did not want to engage in the speech restricted by code.”

Associated Press: “[The 9th Circuit] says it will hear arguments Nov. 1 in Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s appeal of a ruling that put parts of the state’s new immigration law on hold.”

CBC: “Catholic schools in Edmonton are being told to find new ways of raising revenues outside of casinos and other types of gambling. Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith has ordered all Catholic schools, community groups and other organizations to stop raising money through casinos and other types of gambling starting Oct. 1.”

The Scranton Times-Tribune: “The Rev. Harrison Putnam believes the former Trinity United Church of Christ hall at 510 Prospect Ave. is a church, in part because it is ‘where we worshipped with our children.’ The reverend disagrees with a Scranton Zoning Hearing Board ruling in August the hall at 510 Prospect Ave. – which was bought by Concilio De Iglesias Ministetio Maranatha Pentecostal Inc. earlier this year and used as their church – is not a place of worship.”

Daily Record: “The saying of the Lord’s Prayer at the start of Borough Council meetings has sparked a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on behalf of a local resident who is Jewish and believes the recitation is an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity and thus a violation of her civil rights.”

UK Independent: “Seven out of 10 British Catholics believe that a woman should have the right to choose whether to have an abortion . . . The poll conducted by YouGov, which also revealed that nine out of 10 Catholic worshippers support the wide availability of contraception, quizzed a sample of more than 1,600 practising Catholics about their views on the vexed issues of abortion and contraception.”

BBC News: “Sporting venues across London routinely serve Halal meat to customers without informing them, it has emerged . . . Twickenham and Wembley Stadiums and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital admitted they served it without telling diners.”

Associated Press: “Moderate Muslims in Macedonia are urging the government and the international community to crack down on radical Wahhabi groups on the rise in the country.”

Associated Press: “Leaders of prominent U.S. Muslim groups called Monday for a national week of interfaith dialogue to combat religious intolerance and said they support the right to build a controversial Islamic center near ground zero.”

Associated Press: “Wisconsin’s governor said Monday he would start the process of removing a district attorney caught sending sexually harassing text messages to a domestic abuse victim.”

Ynet: “The numbers of same-sex families who adopted children has doubled during the past year, according to data published Monday by the ministry . . . Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog introduced a reform to adoption regulations, which allowed women to officially adopt the children of their partners . . . The next stage Herzog is planning will also enable male couples to officially adopt the biological child of their partner, born to a surrogate mother in Israel or abroad.”

WCAX (AP): “The measure signed by Gov. David Paterson also substitutes the gender-neutral term ‘married couple’ in the adoption statute for ‘husband and wife.’”

Powell’s Books v. Kroger, No. 09-35153 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2010) Before: Ferdinand F. Fernandez, M. Margaret McKeown, and Richard A. Paez, Circuit Judges. Excerpts from the opinion follow McKEOWN, Circuit Judge: We consider here the constitutionality of a pair of …

FOX News: “A House panel last week advanced a bill that would for the first time require federal health officials to ask patients about their sexual orientation and gender identity. The proposal introduced by Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the first openly gay woman elected to Congress, cleared a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on a party-line vote Thursday. Republican attempts to block or restrict the measure failed.”

ABC: “Voters in Bowling Green will soon decide the city’s definition of discrimination . . . the group One Bowling Green wants to expand the definition to include 12 additional characteristics, including gender identity and sexual orientation.”

LifeSiteNews: “[I]n an interview with liberal pundit Rachel Maddow Wednesday evening, Vice President Joe Biden revealed the lack of a strong consensus among Democrat senators over the DADT repeal. While Biden said Republicans would only filibuster over the DADT ‘if they’re as foolish as I think they may be,’ he admitted that the 55 Senate votes favoring repeal were scraped together with some difficulty.”

Associated Press: “Democrats in the New Jersey Senate will hold a longshot vote today to restore $7.5 million in funding to 58 women’s health clinics.” More from the Essex County Conservative Examiner.

BusinessWeek: “Nebraska doctors will soon be required to report an aborted fetus’ gestational age to the state as part of a first-of-its-kind law that will ban abortions starting at 20 weeks based on assertions that fetuses feel pain at that stage of development.”

The Baptist Standard: “American higher education needs Christian institutions like Baylor University, and Christian higher education must find a better way to fund its programs, rather than continuing to increase students’ financial burdens, Baylor President Ken Starr said. In his inaugural address, Starr discussed the unique contributions of Christian higher education to a constitutional republic, and he formally launched an ambitious $100 million fund-raising initiative to address the problem of rapidly accelerating tuition costs at Baylor.”

The Daily Iberian: “Memorial plaques have been removed from trees at New Iberia City Park in response to what New Iberia Mayor Hilda Curry said was a growing problem regarding memorials and crosses in the city.”

Natchez Democrat: “In a recent special legislative session, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a resolution designating today — Sept. 19, 2010 — as ‘Bless our Schools Day — A day of prayer for children and schools in Mississippi.’”

The Herald: “Religious leaders will this week mount a concerted attack on proposals to help the terminally ill die with dignity, warning MSPs they would devalue human life, pervert the doctor-patient relationship and become a ‘cover for murder.’”

The Jarkarta Post: “Said Aqil Siradj, the chief of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, said Sunday that 19 ‘local’ religions across the country have requested the government for recognition in addition to the six sanctioned religions; Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.”

Anne Bayefsky writing at National Review Online: “George Soros’s enormous gift of $100 million to the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch is a serious shot across the bow for Republicans and conservatives . . . The significance of his gift can be understood only by appreciating the web of connections associated with this human-rights organization and its resulting influence . . . Soros has recognized what Republicans ignore at their peril — namely, the power of human-rights claims, legitimate or not. Soros, logged as one of President Obama’s frequent White House guests, appreciates that a human-rights mantra, particularly when amplified with the U.N.’s global megaphone, is a formidable tool for manipulating public policy. A tool, mind you, and not a principle.”

The Jakarta Globe: “The minister of religious affairs on Monday said there were no plans to revise the joint Ministerial Decree on Houses of Worship despite a chorus of criticism from rights activists and lawmakers against the regulation . . . The decree, issued by both the ministries of religious affairs and home affairs, requires the approval of at least 60 households in the immediate vicinity of new houses of worship before they are granted permits to build or conduct services.”

“U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has called on countries to abolish laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians.”

Fouad Ajami writing in The Wall Street Journal: “The truth is that the trajectory of Islam in America (and Europe for that matter) is at variance with the play of things in Islam’s main habitat. A survey by Elaph, the most respected electronic daily in the Arab world, gave a decided edge to those who objected to the building of this mosque—58% saw it as a project of folly . . . Islam in America is of recent vintage. This country can’t be “Islamic.” Its foundations are deep in the Puritan religious tradition. The waves of immigrants who came to these shores understood the need for discretion, and for patience.”

Honolulu Star-Advertiser: “State Rep. Blake Oshiro, the main author of the civil unions bill that passed the Legislature before being vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle this year, defeated outgoing City Councilman Gary Okino last night for the state House 33rd District (Halawa-Aiea).”

“So, why should religious parents be forced to pay more (or get less) than those parents who want an atheistic or agnostic faith-based education for their children? Who gave atheists and agnostics control of the public purse strings? Answer: no one.”

Regent University Law Review invites you to its Oct. 8-9, 2010 Symposium, “Slavery in America Today: Domestic Sex Trafficking, Child Exploitation, and the Silence of Our Culture.” This Symposium, with keynote speaker former Congresswoman Linda Smith, President of Shared Hope …

So why do I write this? I believe the U.S. military’s longstanding position that homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service, dating back to the Continental Army2 and codified since 1993 at 10 U.S.C. § 654, is correct and must be maintained. In this article, I will argue the following . . .

Typically Spanish: “The judge in First Instance Court 15 in Valencia has decided to annul the entry made in the Consular Civil Registry in Los Angeles, by a Spanish gay male married couple who were registered as the parents of twins. The twins were born legally in the United States by a surrogate mother.”

“Although mental-health experts disagree on whether people should make such a dramatic transition at a young age, children as young as 5 are doing it. They’re changing their names, insisting on a new pronoun and altering their appearance with new clothes and hairstyles . . . What should schools do about restrooms and locker rooms? How do they make sure everybody uses the correct pronouns? How should teachers explain the situation to curious classmates?”

On Top Magazine: “Three former Dutch colonies are preparing to introduce gay marriage and adoption laws as they come under direct Dutch rule, Radio Netherlands reported . . . The islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatitus are expected to adopt Dutch law . . . Last week, the lower house of the Dutch Parliament approved a bill to legalize gay marriage and adoption for gay and lesbian couples by 2012 in the three socially conservative islands coming under Dutch control.”

Church compensated 50K euros after property, legal standing stripped by government for not conforming to ruling socialist ideology

Telegraph: “The proposal was presented at the Internet Governance Forum in Lithuania last week, and outlined 12 ‘principles of internet governance’, including a commitment from countries to sustain the technological foundations that underpin the web’s infrastructure . . . Under the proposed terms of the law, there would be cross-border co-operation between countries to identify and address security vulnerability and protect the network from possible cyber attacks or cyber terrorism. It would also uphold rights to freedom of expression and association, and the principle of net neutrality, in which all internet traffic is treated equally across the network.”

Jeffrey Toobin writing at The New Yorker: “If the Court had remained basically the same as the one Breyer joined in 1994, he might well have served out his tenure in genial anonymity . . . But his new colleagues and their allies are different from the conservatives who dominated the Court during the Rehnquist years. They are reviving a set of constitutional issues that looked, to Breyer and others, as though they had long been settled. And on these issues Breyer is not so cautious and not so cheerful, and he has sailed, with uncharacteristic zeal, straight into the fight . . . Obama’s agenda, at its core, relies on the administrative state to solve problems—in health care, the economy, and the environment. As a scholar and a judge, Breyer has spent his career trying to justify what this President is trying to do. ‘Every piece of important legislation that’s been passed so far will be challenged on constitutional grounds,’ Noah Feldman said. ‘With Stevens gone, Breyer is now the critical figure. He will remind everyone that regulation is a necessary component, when properly deployed, of good government.’”

Washington Post: “‘The court should reject approaches to interpreting the Constitution that consider the document’s scope and application as fixed at the moment of framing,’ Breyer writes. ‘Rather, the court should regard the Constitution as containing unwavering values that must be applied flexibly to ever-changing circumstances.’”

Reuters: “A Mexican newspaper on the U.S. border begged violent drug cartels for guidance on how to cover news in a way that would keep gangs from killing more journalists.”

BBC News: “The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats have won 20 of the 349 seats in the country’s single assembly, following Sunday’s general election.”

The New York Times: “The government of Tajikistan on Monday blamed Islamist militants, some with ties to Afghanistan and Pakistan, for an assault on a military convoy in Tajikistan that killed at least 23 soldiers over the weekend. The Tajik government has long voiced concern about the rise of Islamic militancy in the impoverished, mostly Muslim country, which shares a large border with Afghanistan. And it warned Monday that recent surge in violence could destabilize Tajikistan.”

LifeNews: “The Senate is slated to vote this week on the Department of Defense Authorization bill, which includes a provision to allow abortions on military base hospitals both domestically and abroad. The Senate will vote on a motion filed by pro-abortion Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.”

Tennessean: “Contending their lives could be harmed by the risk of Islamic terrorism, proselytizing and Shariah law, four Rutherford County residents are asking for a temporary restraining order to halt work on a new mosque.”

First Amendment Center: “A clear majority of Americans — even those who don’t practice a particular faith — say public school students should have more latitude to express their religious faith in school, according to the latest State of the First Amendment poll conducted by the First Amendment Center.” Via Religion Clause.

Evelyn Birge Vitz and Paul C. Vitz writing at Public Discourse: “Women are hard-wired for relationships—and a woman’s relationship to her baby is one of the most powerful of all, whether she realizes it or not. The hard-wiring of the brain may explain many women’s disturbing post-abortion feelings.”

The Daily Tar Heel: “Concerns from students about the abortion benefit in the UNC-system health insurance plan might go unaddressed by the state government. As part of advocacy efforts to remove the abortion benefit in the student insurance plan, members of Students for Life of America wrote a letter to Gov. Bev Perdue in August after being dissatisfied with system President Erskine Bowles’ response . . . Students for Life of America received a response on Sept. 10 from Perdue but waited a week to make the announcement public, said Kristan Hawkins, executive director for Students for Life of America. In a two-paragraph letter, Perdue only thanked the organization for its civic engagement without further addressing the issue.”

LifeNews: “Congressman Bart Stupak, who pro-life advocates say betrayed the movement when he voted for a government-run health care bill that includes massive abortion funding, says he believes President Barack Obama has upheld his executive order that claimed to confirm no abortion funding but pro-life groups said had significant loopholes.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 21:27 mins

J. Christian Adams writing at Pajamas Media: “Judicial Watch made an explosive announcement today about the Justice Department’s stonewalling in the New Black Panther voter intimidation case dismissal. Forced to bring a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit after DOJ rebuffed its public records request (so much for transparency), Judicial Watch obtained a privilege log from the DOJ last week. It shows — in a rather dramatic way — that the DOJ has been untruthful about who was involved in the dismissal of the case.”

LifeNews: “Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin became the latest potential presidential candidate and Republican with a national profile to call for a ‘truce’ on social issues. He joins Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Hailey Barbour, who called for Republicans to back down on pro-life issues.”

The Hill: “Republicans will unveil their new ‘Contract with America’ in Virginia on Thursday, less than two months before election day . . . The new contract, modeled after the 1994 ‘Contract with America,’ is intended to highlight what the Republican party would stand for if it returns to power in Congress. For much of the last two years, Republicans have won points from voters chiefly by opposing the Obama administration’s agenda.”

Associated Press: “As they begin the fall harvest, wary farmers are watching a federal debate over whether to clamp down on one of rural life’s constant companions – the dust clouds that farm machinery kick up in fields and along unpaved roads.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal: “The construction sector, restaurants and professional firms all added jobs in the month, but declines in Census jobs and other public-sector cuts offset that hiring to push statewide unemployment to an all-time high of 14.4 percent, the state Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation said this morning. That’s up from 14.3 percent in July and 12.5 percent in August 2009.”

Deseret News: “In essence, she said, comparing many adults’ mind-set about pornography to today’s reality is similar to comparing Pong to video games of today. ‘There is a huge generation gap in understanding what today’s generation are exposed to and have access to,’ [Jill C. Manning] said. ‘The darkest stuff of yesteryear can be easily accessible to a child through a computer’ . . . Many people who grew up in a pre-Internet era still have the mind-set of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s when it comes to pornography, she said. ‘They don’t have a reference point for the dangers and risks we are talking about.’”

McClatchy: “Thousands of determined tea party activists converged in a park in America’s oldest city Saturday and heard a succession of Republican candidates promise to heed their demands for less government and lower taxes . . . ‘This election is nothing less than a referendum of our identity as a nation and as a people,” Rubio said, calling 2010 an historic moment ‘when people were pushed to the brink.’”

LifeNews: “Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana won the 2012 presidential straw poll at the pro-life Values Voters Summit today in the nation’s capital. Pence, considered one of the pro-life leaders in the House of Representatives, finished ahead of other Republicans in the vice-presidential straw poll as well, showing his attraction to social conservatives.”

Associated Press: “Rep. Mike Pence tells ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ any verdict on O’Donnell’s fitness to serve in the Senate is ‘up to the voters of Delaware.’ The Indiana Republican says there’s a welling up of anger and a demand for political leaders who will ‘put our fiscal house in order.’”

Associated Press: “If you’re looking for a senator’s most recent report on personal finances, you can walk into an office in the Capitol complex, sit down at a computer and print out the report in a matter of minutes . . . But if you want to see a federal judge’s disclosure, be prepared to wait . . . federal judges refuse to make it easy for the public to see annual reports on their investments, affiliations and paid travel – reports that could signal potential conflicts of interest in pending lawsuits.”

The New York Times: “Even after taxpayer bailouts restored bankers’ profits and pay, the great Wall Street money machine is decelerating. Big financial institutions, including commercial banks, are still making a lot of money. But given unease in the financial markets and the economy, brokerages and investment banks are not making nearly as much as their executives, employees and investors had hoped.”

Attorneys defending marriage in California filed their opening brief Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in defense of the state’s voter-approved constitutional amendment that protects marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

ChristianNewsWire: “Sparks flew in St. Joseph County Circuit Court yesterday as the Thomas More Society won several key victories against the prosecution in the case of the ‘ND88,’ the individuals arrested in connection with President Barack Obama’s appearance at the University of Notre Dame Commencement in 2009 . . . Thomas More Society special counsel Tom Dixon beat back efforts by the county prosecutor to force all defendants to return to South Bend one week prior to their trials, which the court denied ‘in the interest of justice.’”

The Star-Ledger: “Sayreville’s bid to close the Club 35 nude juice bar suffered a setback today when an appeals court overturned a judge’s ruling that the club should be shuttered and a permanent deed restriction should be granted preventing similar businesses on the property.”

Borough of Sayreville v. 35 Club, LLC, No. A-3537-08T1 (N.J. Super. App. Div. Sept. 17, 2010)