Daily Archives: November 9, 2010

“Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother-of-five, denies blasphemy and told investigators that she was being persecuted for her faith in a country where Christians face routine harassment and discrimination.”

Christian Science Monitor: “Sectarian violence and a Christian exodus has left Baghdad’s St. Elia Catholic school largely surrounded by Muslims, who were drawn to the school’s no-hitting rule.”

ChristianNewsWire: “Rhode Island Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee, who won office as an Independent, has appointed a transition team that includes an abortionist who admits he has committed abortions in an undisclosed South American country where abortion is illegal.”

Reuters: “China kept up a drumbeat of criticism of U.S. easy money policies on Tuesday, warning two days before a G20 world economic summit that Washington could destabilize the global economy and inflate asset bubbles.”

Statesman-Journal: “An Eastern Oregon congregation that left the United Methodist Church has been sued over its finances. The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church lawsuit alleges that members of the independent Ontario Community Church took property, funds and documents held in trust for the Methodist mission and ministry.”

AFP: “Republican opposition to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has stiffened since their victory in mid-term elections last week, dimming prospects for action in Congress, even Democrats acknowledge.”

USA Today: “U.S. doctors must become more attuned to Islamic beliefs and values that could affect the physician-patient relationship with Muslim Americans, researchers found in a recently released study. This will become even more important as the U.S. Muslim population of nearly 7 million continues to grow, they found.”

UPI: “Washington will do whatever it can to make sure all religious groups are free to practice safely in Iraq, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said.”

St. Petersburg Times: “If history is any indication, absolute numbers won’t translate to absolute agreement. Conflict is already brewing between Scott’s campaign promises on budget cuts, immigration, abortion and what leaders of the Republican-controlled House and Senate are willing to do.”

Guardian: “A French company, Lyberta, has just dropped plans to fit children in several nurseries in Paris with electronic tags, after a newspaper revealed the scheme. Trade unions, councils and civil liberties groups were indignant at the invasion of privacy.”

Reuters: “Obama arrived on Tuesday on a twice-postponed trip to Indonesia, the world’s most populous majority-Muslim state. Before leaving on Wednesday, he plans a major speech reaching out to the Muslim world that would tout Indonesia as an example of an emerging democracy and tolerant society.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “With the coming retirement of Judge Inez Smith Reid, the D.C. Court of Appeals has begun looking for a successor to take her place on the bench.”

Associated Content: “In this survey, Gallup attempts to gauge the moral compass of Americans on eighteen of the top moral issues facing the country today. Other issues on the minds of Americans were Gay or lesbian relations. Fifty-two percent said they did believe these relationships were morally acceptable, leaving only 46 percent feeling them to be morally wrong.”

Slate: “But the [Violence Against Women Act] has a potential flaw, too: A small fraction of the time, it may also provide incentive for immigrant husbands and wives to fake domestic abuse.”

Balancing Public Health and Individual Choice: A Proposal for a Federal Emergency Vaccination Law
Sara Mahmoud-Davis, 20 Health Matrix 219 (2010)

“Part I discusses the relationship between vaccinations and informed consent, including exemptions. Part II examines the scientific foundation for compulsory vaccination law and looks at the inherent tension between immunization exemptions and the public health. Part III establishes the constitutional basis for permitting religious exemptions and conditional rights of refusal, while excluding philosophical opt-outs. Part IV presents arguments in favor of a federal emergency vaccination law and proposes amending the Federal Public Health Service Act. Finally, Part V explains how the mass vaccination clinics would operate and describes the informed consent and opt-out process.”

Indianapolis Star: “Abortion, immigration and same-sex marriage could rise on the legislative agenda. But despite having the numbers to enact almost anything they want, GOP legislators face an internal tug-of-war.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “The estimates vary widely, but it is likely that somewhere between 12 million and 27 million human beings are suffering in bondage around the world. Men, women and children are trapped in prostitution or labor in fields and factories under brutal bosses who threaten them with violence or jail if they try to escape . . . We need to redouble our efforts to fight modern slavery. I hope that the countries that have not yet acceded to the U.N. Trafficking Protocol will do so. Many other countries can still do more to strengthen their anti-trafficking laws. And all governments can devote more resources to finding victims and punishing human traffickers.”

Townhall (BP): “Swiss euthanasia promoter Ludwig Minelli is calling for lethal prescriptions to be provided legally to the spouses and partners of terminally ill patients even when they are healthy.”

Hurriyet Daily News: “‘Passive euthanasia’ occurs across Turkey due to insufficient health services despite the lack of legal recognition for assisted suicide, according to legal and medical experts.”

ACLU Press Release: “The U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) today issued a [set of recommendations] for the United States to bring its human rights policies and practices in line with international standards.”

Lexington Herald-Leader: “Lexington has been choosing mayors since 1832, when Charlton Hunt got the nod. But it is unlikely he or any of the 52 who followed have gotten the nationwide media attention being heaped on Gray. The reason: Gray, 57, a construction company executive and the city’s current vice mayor, is gay, and has publicly acknowledged his sexual orientation.”

The Hill: “The comments are the first hint of bitterness between Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) as the two Democratic heavyweights vie for the minority whip spot in the next Congress. ”

Catholic League Press Release: “It is not just that this U.N. resolution is poorly worded, it is the intent behind it: it is being promoted by member states that are known for disrespecting human rights, including, most spectacularly, religious liberties.”

Ed Whelan writing at National Review / Bench Memos:”Here’s the judge’s opinion . . . I don’t see how the plaintiff’s proffered evidence shows that the amendment’s ‘actual purpose is to disapprove of plaintiff’s faith.’”

The Christian Institute: “All newspapers should promote the homosexual agenda, according to a leading article in The Times newspaper. The newspaper was boasting about being awarded Publication of the Year by homosexual pressure group, Stonewall, last week. It said it longed for the day when the homosexual agenda will be fully integrated into society.”

The Washington Times: “Sexual orientation is a sensitive and very political topic, but certainly not one you’d think of when referencing the orientation of small children. But it has been at the center of a recent controversy over parents of very young boys who have allowed them to dress as girls in public.”

Via TaxProf Blog, a National Jurist article, “Law schools hiring liberal educators“: “There has been much discussion about liberal bias in higher education, and now a new study confirms that law schools are indeed hiring more openly liberal law professors than those who are conservative.”

MLive.com (Jackson Citizen Patriot): “Jonesville Community Schools is ending a Bible distribution program at Williams Elementary School after a parent raised concerns, the superintendent said.”

Canada Free Press: “A plan to build the world’s northmost mosque has been halted after Norway refused to accept funding from an Arab donor, with the government on Monday citing a lack of religious freedom in his Saudi homeland.”

TribLocal Hinsdale: “An amendment adopted to the calendar policy in March requires the district to avoid scheduling events and activities for days or times that would create a foreseeable religious conflict. Because of the policy, the district’s two middle school cross-country teams were not able to participate in Hinsdale High School District 86’s invitational meet Sept. 8, which fell on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. The teams also did not participate in Indian Trail Middle School’s Sept. 17 meet because it fell on the eve of Yom Kippur.”

CBS (AP): “A North Carolina pastor was found guilty of violating a state law that prohibits residential picketing for stalking a doctor who performs abortions. He was sentenced to 24 months probation and plans to appeal, reports WSOC-TV in Charlotte.”

Courier-Journal: “The Mayfield Board of Zoning Adjustments on Tuesday unanimously approved a Somali man’s request for a permit to operate a mosque in the Western Kentucky city — reversing a previous denial that had generated national controversy.” | ACLU: Decision Follows Appeal From ACLU And ACLU Of Kentucky

Daily Mail: “A council is allowing its schools to teach Paganism to pupils, it emerged today. Lincolnshire County Council raised the issue of whether Paganism should be added to the Religious Education curriculum at a recent meeting . . . It was decided that individual schools can choose whether they wish to teach Paganism to pupils or not.”

Minnesota Public Radio: “The city of Maplewood has passed a domestic partnership ordinance that would allow same-sex couples to register with the city.”

“The Iowa Senate Republican leader said Monday he believes the Legislature has to begin the process of giving the people a vote on a marriage amendment to the state constitution.”

Telegraph: “Planning officials acted against Beverley Akciecek, 49, after being told her next door neighbour’s Muslim friends had felt ‘physically sick’ due to the ‘foul odour’ . . . And the mother-of-seven whose husband Cetin, 50, is himself a Turkish Muslim work more than fifty hours a week buying, preparing and cooking hot and cold sandwiches and hot-pots for their customers. ”

Janet Levy writing at American Thinker: “Is the United States today a de facto shariah state? A close look at recent events points to some alarming conclusions about the tenets of shariah law taking hold in our once-proud constitutional republic and the unwitting, unequal application of existing U.S. laws. The result is that when it comes to religious expression, Muslims now enjoy more freedom of religion and speech under our Bill of Rights than non-Muslims. Equal protection under the laws of our country holds for Muslims far better than for non-Muslims. Several recent examples illustrate this point.”

ADF President and CEO Alan E. Sears writing at Inside the Issues: “If you have any doubts that things are changing in America today, consider the case of a single woman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who posted an advertisement for a roommate on her church bulletin board. As a Christian, she stipulated that she’d like the roommate to be a Christian, too . . . Unfortunately, even though the complaint was dismissed, the problematic ‘anti-discrimination’ housing law – which states that a person cannot seek out renters based on gender or religion – is still in effect. ADF is considering filing a lawsuit to strike down this problematic law, based on how it was applied in this case.”

David N. Bass writing at The American Spectator: “After mostly lying dormant for two elections cycle, will the culture wars make a comeback in 2012? There’s a more than even chance of it. One reason is that marriage amendments will be on the ballot in at least a handful of states that have stonewalled the issue for years. That’s due to historic Republican gains in governorships and state legislatures around the country, often in areas where the GOP hasn’t held the reins of power in decades, even centuries.”

The Meaning of Secularism
Charles Taylor, The Hedgehog Review 12.3 (Fall 2010)

“One of our basic difficulties in dealing with these problems is that we have the wrong model, which has a continuing hold on our minds. We think that secularism (or laïcité) has to do with the relation of the state and religion, whereas in fact it has to do with the (correct) response of the democratic state to diversity. If we look at the three goals above, they have in common that they are concerned with protecting people in their belonging and/or practice of whatever outlook they choose or find themselves in; treating people equally whatever their option; and giving them all a hearing. There is no reason to single out religious (as against nonreligious), ‘secular’ (in another widely used sense), or atheist viewpoints. Indeed, the point of state neutrality is precisely to avoid favoring or disfavoring not just religious positions, but any basic position, religious or nonreligious. We can’t favor Christianity over Islam, but also we can’t favor religion over against nonbelief in religion, or vice versa.”

Associated Press: “Here are the congressional and gubernatorial races that remain uncalled after last Tuesday’s election . . .”

Spiegel: “Schäuble: ‘The German export successes are not the result of some sort of currency manipulation, but of the increased competitiveness of companies. The American growth model, on the other hand, is in a deep crisis. The United States lived on borrowed money for too long, inflating its financial sector unnecessarily and neglecting its small and mid-sized industrial companies. There are many reasons for America’s problems, but they don’t include German export surpluses.’”

Bloomberg: “China will force banks to hold more foreign exchange and strengthen auditing of overseas fund raising, stepping up efforts to curb hot-money inflows that may inflate asset bubbles and add pressure for a stronger yuan.”

LifeNews: “In the last 18 months alone, five studies have demonstrated an increased risk of breast cancer following abortion. One of those studies, co-authored by Louise Briton, a NCI branch chief, found a statistically significant 40 percent increased risk of breast cancer following abortion.”

CBS: “His attorney had asked that the case be dismissed, saying Melchert-Dinkel’s conversations involved protected speech. Rice County District Judge Thomas Neuville disagreed in a 21-page ruling, saying speech that aids the suicide of another is not protected by the First Amendment.”

LifeSiteNews: “A fifty-year-old Mexican woman has given birth to a child whose biological father is her homosexual son, according to the Mexico City newspaper Reforma.”

Phyllis Schlafly writing at Townhall: “The most important decision the voters made on Nov. 2 may turn out to be Iowa sending out to pasture three state supreme court judges who had voted to make same-sex marriage constitutional, overriding the wishes of the people in Iowa and their elected representatives. The reverberations are cascading nationwide, and we hope this landmark election signals the beginning of the end of rule by arrogant supremacist judges.”

Fides: “The liturgy is once again being said at the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad, after the massacre of Christians on October 31, but there is fear among the faithful. Local sources report that two Christians were killed yesterday in Baghdad, in situations investigators have yet to be identify.”

OneNewsNow: “In the aftermath of last week’s midterm elections, a pro-family communication and fund-raising advisor says there appears to be little chance for homosexual marriage to pass in Maine’s legislature.”

Joanna L. Grossman writing at FindLaw: “One aspect of Nguyen that might help Ruben Flores-Villar — the individual whose fate is at issue in the case the Court will soon consider — is that, in Nguyen, the Court did at least purport to apply the heightened scrutiny appropriate for sex-based classifications, rather than a special, weaker standard potentially justified by the naturalization context. (Flores-Villar also makes an age-discrimination claim, but that claim is entitled only to a lower form of review.)” | Part 1 is here.

LifeNews: “Though Kagan has been called upon to recuse herself in what is expected to eventually be one of the more monumental decisions of the Supreme Court, she participated in a case on Monday that is a precursor to the coming battle.”

Inside Higher Ed: “At the request of the university’s Muslim Students’ Association, George Washington began offering a once-weekly, female-only swim hour in March. But it only recently turned into an online debate over issues of religious and sexual discrimination and — though not always explicitly — racism, spurred by an article in the student newspaper, The GW Hatchet.”

Wall Street Journal: “It would be hard to find two more unlikely intellectual comrades than Robert Zoellick, the World Bank technocrat, and Sarah Palin, the populist conservative politician. But in separate interventions yesterday, the pair roiled the global monetary debate in complementary and timely fashion . . . Misguided monetary policy can ruin an Administration as thoroughly as higher taxes and destructi’ve regulation, and the new GOP majority in the House and especially the next GOP President need to be alert to the dangers.”

” . . Are we so wary of offending Muslim sensibilities or inflaming Muslim rage we cannot denounce the pogroms perpetrated against Christians in the name of Allah?”

ADF Attorney David French writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Over at Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Jeremy Hooper takes issue with my recent post regarding Iowa voters’ rejection of three state supreme court justices who invented a state constitutional right to same-sex marriage . . . [I]t’s true that marriage supporters put money in the race. But is it true that money guarantees victory? It helps — of course — but if money made all the difference, this past election cycle would look very different.”

AFP: “Talks have resumed in the US Senate on lifting a ban on gays serving openly in the military although chances of repeal this year appeared slim, legislative officials said Monday.”

“The American Legion has called on Congress, the president and the Pentagon to carefully consider the concerns voiced by the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps regarding the lifting of the military’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on homosexuals.”

Washington Post: “The Obama administration reiterated its support Monday for repealing the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) worked to strip language repealing the ban from the annual defense authorization bill.”

The Hill: “House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) threw cold water on the proposed plan, which would temporarily extend tax cuts for the wealthy while permanently extending tax cuts for the middle class. ‘Taxes shouldn’t be going up on anybody right now,’ Cantor said.”

Tony Blair writing in the Wall Street Journal (full text via Google News): “Most people instinctively understand the right approach to integration. We just have to articulate and enforce it. This approach is to distinguish clearly and carefully between the common space, shared by all citizens, and the space where we can be different . . . ”

Wall Street Journal (full text via Google News): “It’s not every day these columns praise the American Civil Liberties Union. Even less often will you find the ACLU standing up for pro-lifers. That, however, is exactly what’s happening in Ohio—and it tells us a great deal about threats to conviction and free speech in modern American politics.”

Wall Street Journal (full text via Google News): “Americans want workers to be able to join a union if they freely choose one, but only when they are organized through honest, democratic elections. Republicans should be able to block card check legislation in the lame duck and the 112th Congress, but states can protect their economies from the NLRB with initiatives like those that passed last week.”

The Oklahoman: “Hate mail was sent to mosques across the state before and after voters passed a measure prohibiting Oklahoma courts from considering Sharia law when making decisions . . . ‘We have seen a steady increase of hate in our places of worship,’ Awad said.”

Boston.com (AP): “The lawsuits were filed in federal courts in Connecticut and New York and come just months after a federal judge in Boston struck down a key component of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.”

“Ms. Pedersen and Ms. Meitzen plan to file a lawsuit Tuesday against the government in an effort to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples.”

Lambda Legal: “Lambda Legal yesterday filed a brief in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in a lawsuit that could result in the next major court decision regarding the constitutionality of the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act,’ also known as DOMA.”

Golinski v. United States Office of Personnel Management, No. 3:10-cv-0257-JSW (N.D. Cal.)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Even though the justices’ critics may have celebrated the outcome as a victory for democracy, the Iowa majority actually delivered a body blow to a vital tenet of a free society: That’s the concept of an independent judiciary, where judges issue rulings based upon their best understanding of the law, not public opinion.”

New York Times Editorial: “This year’s campaign is one more reminder of why the 39 states that hold judicial elections should scrap them in favor of merit screening and appointment of judges for a long fixed term.”

Howard Bashman writing in The Legal Intelligencer [PDF]: “If the public at large is unqualified to evaluate the performance of appellate judges, and if appellate judges should be entirely unconcerned about the public’s reaction to rulings that a judge believes are compelled by the law, then it makes little to no sense to allow judicial elections or retention votes. Nevertheless, in Pennsylvania at least, judicial elections and retention votes manage to keep appellate judges connected to the people. ”

View in Google Docs.

ACLU Press Release: “Edith ‘Edie’ Windsor, who shared her life with her late spouse, Thea Spyer, for 44 years, will file a lawsuit against the federal government tomorrow for refusing to recognize their marriage. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ (DOMA), a federal statute that defines marriage for all federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. Windsor and Spyer were married in Canada in 2007, and were considered married by their home state of New York.”

Thomas Sowell writing at National Review Online: “The runaway arrogance that politicians get when they have huge majorities in Congress is more or less common among federal judges with lifetime tenure or state judges who are seldom defeated in elections to confirm their appointments to the bench . . . Being a judge does not mean being given arbitrary powers to enact the liberal agenda from the bench, which means depriving the citizens of their most basic rights that define a free and self-governing people.”

Bloomberg: “Pushing the judiciary rightward has been a staple of Republican campaigns for decades. Part of the strategy, used by both parties, is to block judicial candidates named by a president of the opposite party. This became easier last week for Republicans, who were already doing quite well at it.”

Religion Clause: “A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed yesterday with the U.S. Supreme Court in McGill v. General Conference Corporation of Seventh Day Adventists . . . ”

LifeNews: “Despite losing control of the House in the elections, pro-abortion Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to remain as the leader of the Democratic Party. But some Democrats, in a new letter, are telling her to take a hike.”

Lyle Denniston reports at SCOTUSblog: “The Supreme Court on Monday turned aside the first attempt to pursue in the Court a constitutional challenge to the new federal health care law. The initial test sought to draw the Justices into the nationwide controversy over the law, before any federal appeals court has ruled on it. The Court’s order denying review of Baldwin v. Sebelius (10-369) indicated that there were no dissents and no recusals.”