Daily Archives: October 11, 2010

CNA: “The Catholic bishops of Minnesota have issued a brief statement on marriage, saying that having same-sex attractions does not deprive anyone of basic human rights but also does not create the right to ‘marry’ someone of the same sex.” | The Catechetical Statement

“A healthy baby boy was born from an embryo frozen for almost 20 years in what was hailed Sunday as scientific breakthrough that could allow women to start families much later in life.”

Christian Telegraph: “The supreme court of Bangladesh in August ruled that women and men cannot be required to wear veils or skullcaps in workplaces or schools — dealing a blow to Muslim radicals trying to impose Islamic law on the predominantly Muslim country, reports Baptist Press.”

Christian Today: “Christians are treated without mercy. Up to three generations of Christian families are rounded up and thrown in prison camps to try to eliminate the faith. The nation is now grooming its next leader. But the question is, will Kim Jong-un finally put an end to his country’s policy of ruthless persecution?”

First Amendment Coalition: “According to an agreement between attorneys for the school district and the students, the school board has decided to amend the district policies and student handbook. In return, the students will dismiss some aspects of the case, said Jonathan Scruggs, an attorney at the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian group that defends freedom of religion.”

EveryDayChristian.com: “‘I think there is a biblical responsibility that Christians have in following the patterns of Scripture to seek good for the nation that they live in,’ said Grudem in an interview with the Alliance Defense Fund about his latest book release. Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture was published by Zondervan last month.”

TopNews.us: “On Saturday, women in Australia protested outside the Cairns courthouse in far north Queensland to support a young couple facing the charges of illegal abortion.”

Ilya Somin writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: “France’s Constitutional Council recently upheld the constitutionality of a law banning the wearing of veils in public places. The text of the decision is available in French here. Despite the importance of the issue and the large potential infringement on religious freedom, the opinion is very short and conclusory. For those of our readers who understand French, here is the key passage . . . ”

One News Now: “Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) litigation counsel Jonathan Scruggs tells OneNewsNow that his client has the right to read and discuss the Bible during non-instructional time. ‘We’re not asking for special treatment here,’ he explains. ‘We’re simply asking for equal treatment in the same way that other students can read material during recess — that our client should have been allowed to read the Bible and participate in a Bible study during recess.’”

Atlanta Post: The second round in a case over the local control of public education will be heard Tuesday. Lawyers for seven metro districts head to the Georgia Supreme Court to argue that a state board is illegally opening and funding charter schools.

The Desert Sun: “Gordon’s plan is one of several efforts by conservative churches to challenge the IRS on a law they view as unconstitutional. The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona organization that promotes conservative biblical values, has sponsored a “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” in recent years, a day when pastors speak specifically about candidates for office.”

DailyBreeze.com: At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Dawn Unity Group will tackle this hot-button issue with "Abortion – Exploring Theological Differences," as part of its continuing Interfaith Discovery Series. This year, the program will be held at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 26825 Rolling Hills Road, Rolling Hills Estates, and moderated by Bob Rothman.”

LifeNews: “Upset that the Susan B. Anthony List is holding him accountable for violating his pledge to represent pro-life values in Congress by voting for the abortion-funding ObamaCare health care bill, Ohio Rep. Steve Driehaus has filed a criminal complaint against the pro-life organization.”

Kevin Theriot writes at the Speak Up Movement Blog for Churches: “The religious speech of churches doesn’t take a back seat to political speech on the constitutional bus.  As Judge Noonan astutely said, it’s just as important to our democracy and even more protected.”

Spiegel Online: “Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said that Islamic law has no place in Germany. But she was wrong: German courts have long used elements of Shariah in some verdicts. It is an "expression of globalization," says one legal expert.”

Post-Gazette.com: “State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Castille doesn’t want the state Senate to confirm the judges for Washington and Bucks counties. He says the judges aren’t needed and he would rather keep the jobs empty while the judicial branch battles budget problems.”

Allan D. Hertzke has an article at Weekly Standard that carries this sub-caption: “How a 1990 decision has come back to haunt us, and how its damage might be undone”

TheBostonchannel.com: “In a move that officials believe is the first of its kind in Massachusetts, Cambridge will close its schools for one Muslim holiday each year beginning in the next school year.”

DailyMail: “Transformed by a beaming smile, this is the tiny face of a foetus just 17 weeks old. The scan implies that a baby can experience feelings such as happiness and pain much earlier in its development than previously thought. It will prompt further calls from doctors and campaigners to lower the upper abortion limit from 24 weeks . . . ”

WSBTV.com: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia issued a statement Monday urging the regents to continue to allow illegal immigrant students to attend University System of Georgia schools.”

“US doctors have begun treating the first patient with embryonic stem cells as part of the first human study of the controversial treatment authorized by the government, the Geron Corporation said Monday.”

The National Law Journal on Law.com: “Two federal court rulings dramatically shifted the legal landscape with respect to the military’s ban against openly gay service members. It’s unclear, however, whether they will survive U.S. Supreme Court review. Ultimately, the matter may be settled where the Obama administration wants it to be — in Congress.”

Orin Kerr writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: “Adam Liptak has an important front-page story in The New York Times about how Supreme Court specialists look for cases to take to the Supreme Court. The story presents a pretty accurate picture of how tough the competition is for cases likely to get to the Supreme Court. These days, if you’re a lawyer who has a case that might get to the Supreme Court, you can expect a lot of calls from some pretty high-powered lawyers offering free help and competing for the opportunity to provide it. I think there are a few different issues raised by the story, however, and it’s important to keep them separate . . . ”

“Carl Paladino, the Republican party candidate for governor of New York, told Good Day NY on Monday that he would not disavow comments he made on Sunday that children should not be ‘brainwashed into thinking homosexuality is acceptable.’”

Andrew Cohen writes at Politics Daily: “Judge Livingston then delivered the coup de grace. “The infirmities in Vermont’s application of its own statute are amply demonstrated by the case at bar. Byrne applied for the plate JN36TN, which the state refused to issue because Byrne’s supplied meaning indicated his intent to refer to the biblical passage John 3:16. However, as Byrne argues, and the record supports, Vermont would have approved that very same combination had Byrne supplied a secular meaning for it – e.g., `[M]y name is John, I am 36, [and] I was born in Tennessee.’”

LifeNews: “The former director of the Reproductive Services abortion center in Tulsa, Oklahoma has pleaded guilty to charges of making false or misleading statements after telling police she supposedly found a bomb at the abortion center.”

Post-Gazette.com: “Hannah Bruesewitz’s parents think a DPT vaccination caused the child’s seizure disorder, but the vaccine maker is protected from suits by federal law.”

One News Now: “NOMexposed.com was created by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a major homosexual activist organization that says it hopes to ‘out NOM for what it is — a secretive player in anti-gay policies.’ The website details NOM supporters and posts items about those who have publicly expressed what HRC labels ‘anti-gay rhetoric and activity.’”

AP: “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pressing political reforms to the restive Balkans with the hope that such changes will lead to the region’s full integration into the European Union and NATO.”

BBC: “Serbian police have clashed with protesters trying to disrupt a Gay Pride parade in the capital, Belgrade.” | More reports here.

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the recent 2nd Circuit victory in the Vermont John 3:16 license plate litigation. | MP3 audio 13:41 mins

Telegraph.co.uk: “A Christian minister is bringing a legal test case to try to prevent a radical Islamic preacher coming to Britain . . . His case is being brought by the Christian Legal Centre, who have hired the religious and human rights barrister Paul Diamond.”

AP: “China on Monday blocked European officials from meeting with the wife of the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner, cut off her phone communication and canceled meetings with Norwegian officials – acting on its fury over the award.”

Religion Clause Blog: “While the show spent four months at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver without incident, in Loveland it has triggered protests as a Loveland City Council member and the media say that one of Chagoya’ panels depicts Jesus having oral sex . . . Folden’s attorney said: ‘The real issue is the city of Loveland, which is not supposed to be endorsing or belittling religion. They specifically endorsed a piece that belittled Jesus Christ.’”

Wall Street Journal: “Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the third-ranking House Republican, who serves as conference chairman, said he saw enough votes on the high court to strike a blow to President Obama’s signature domestic initiative.”

Wall Street Journal: “On Oct. 12, 1892, schoolchildren inaugurated an American tradition that continues more than a century later: They recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The occasion was the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America, and the promoter of the Pledge was a popular national magazine called the Youth’s Companion.”

Wall Street Journal: “If at first you don’t succeed, get some friends in high places to shut your opponents up. That’s the latest Washington power play, as Democrats and liberals attack the Chamber of Commerce and independent spending groups in an attempt to stop businesses from participating in politics.”

Express.co.uk: “A pregnant Muslim woman was ordered to remove her veil before giving evidence in court against her violent ex-partner.”

World Net Daily: “The Institute of International Finance, a group that represents 420 of the world’s largest banks and finance houses, has issued yet another call for a one-world global currency, Jerome Corsi’s Red Alert reports.”

Barna Group: “The cities (measured in the Barna research as media markets) with the highest proportion of residents who describe themselves as Christian are typically in the South, including: Shreveport (98%), Birmingham (96%), Charlotte (96%), Nashville (95%), Greenville, SC / Asheville, NC (94%), New Orleans (94%), Indianapolis (93%), Lexington (93%), Roanoke-Lynchburg (93%), Little Rock (92%), and Memphis (92%). The lowest share of self-identified Christians inhabited the following markets: San Francisco (68%), Portland, Oregon (71%), Portland, Maine (72%), Seattle (73%), Sacramento (73%), New York (73%), San Diego (75%), Los Angeles (75%), Boston (76%), Phoenix (78%), Miami (78%), Las Vegas (78%), and Denver (78%). Even in these cities, however, roughly three out of every four residents align with Christianity . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Barton v. Mikelhayes, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107233 (ND NY, Oct. 7, 2010), a New York federal district court applied the ministerial exception doctrine to dismiss a Title VII gender discrimination complaint brought by Todd David …

Religion Clause Blog: “The complaint (full text) in Moultrie v. Berkeley County, South Carolina, (D SC, filed 10/5/2010), argues that by providing exemptions for political signs (as well as for “for sale” and “for lease” signs) but not for signs expressing religious messages . . . ”

SCOTUS Blog: “Washington State conservative advocacy group, seeking to play a role in ballot measure campaigns in its state, on Friday asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for it to raise unlimited funds to pay for its efforts. Its attack on a Washington state law that puts a $5,000 limit on contributions to ballot measure committees in the final three weeks before an election could become a significant sequel to the Court’s controversial ruling last January in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”

DesMoinesRegister.com: “The Rev. Cary K. Gordon has a prayer he recites as he campaigns against the three Iowa Supreme Court justices who are up for retention in next month’s election. ‘Dear God,’ he says, ‘please allow the IRS to attack my church, so I can take them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.’ . . . The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona organization that promotes conservative biblical values, has sponsored a ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ in recent years, a day when pastors speak specifically about candidates for office.”

One News Now: “‘This [lawsuit] stands for the proposition that government employees should not be compelled to participate in events that violate their sincerely held beliefs,’ contends Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Joe Infranco, who adds that there was no opportunity for the men to opt out.”

One News Now: “Exodus International supported the “Day of Truth” for four years and spearheaded the effort this past year. It was created in 2005 by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) as a response to the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) annual “Day of Silence.” Exodus International vice president Randy Thomas believes the Day of Truth has continued to have a loving and redeeming intent, but its aim is perceived differently from the outside . . . [ADF statement quoted . . . ]”

CollegeNews.com: “Reports of teen suicides linked to anti-gay harassment have made the spotlight in countless news sources lately, and the national Christian organization Exodus International has taken a proactive stance: They will no longer be sponsoring the annual Day of Truth. The Day of Truth was initially formed in 2005 by conservative group Alliance Defense Fund in reaction to the Day of Silence . . . ”

Charles Simmins writing at Associated Content / Yahoo: “Current laws vary by state so greatly that legal gay marriage will be burdened by the government as has more traditional one man – one woman marriage. When marriage laws apply differently to teenaged boys than they do teenaged girls, or to Gentiles than they do Jews, or it is easier to get married than to divorce, legal gay marriage is a choice that community should choose to reject.”

National Law Journal on Law.com: “A state law that prohibits vanity license plates containing religious messages violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The 2nd Circuit said a Vermont statute that barred a driver from obtaining a vanity plate referring to the Biblical verse . . . Jeremy D. Tedesco of the Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, Arizona argued for Byrne.”