Daily Archives: November 15, 2010

Christian Post: “The recent closing of a Washington state abortion clinic may be a reflection of a national drop in the demand for abortion among women ages 15 to 44 . . . Public opinion suggests abortion is increasingly unpopular among Americans. A Gallup poll released in May 2009 found that 51 percent of Americans called themselves ‘pro-life’ on issues of abortion, compared to 42 percent of those who considered themselves ‘pro-choice.’”

Washington Post: “The next crop of would-be D.C. charter school operators gathered in a gray conference room on 14th Street one night last week, more than 30 hopeful men and women, each with his or her own pitch . . . The meeting was convened by the District’s public charter school board to explain the application process for opening a charter school, a list of requirements that fits into an hour-long PowerPoint presentation.”

The News Journal: “At the center are scars from a bitter Senate primary between Christine O’Donnell and Mike Castle that thrust Delaware politics into the national spotlight . . . But in the wreckage of Nov. 2, party members are divided about what they need to do to compete with Democrats, who have 110,000 more registered voters. The division mainly pits the more conservative voters of Sussex, Kent and southern New Castle counties against moderates in the more populous north.”

“The remaining four justices are Mark Cady, David Wiggins, Daryl Hecht and Brent Appel.”

New York Post: “Planned Parenthood of New York City took issue with my post on why abortion should carry a stigma . . . If we agree that the goal is to reduce the need for abortion, and Planned Parenthood is interested in having women make the best decision available to them, why isn’t choosing not to abort one of the options listed here?”

LifeNews: “Concerned Women for America leader Penny Nance told LifeNews.com that social issues shouldn’t be set aside and, instead, should share an equal level of important with fiscal issues in the next session of Congress . . . ”

ACLU: “The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that students who attend at least three years of high school in California and who graduate from a California high school are eligible for in-state tuition rates at California public colleges and universities, regardless of their immigration status. The court found that federal law did not bar California from offering tuition equality to students. California is one of 10 states to grant tuition equality to its students.”

Christian Post: “Attorneys for a Christian mother of five sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly speaking ill of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, have filed an appeal of the verdict, they said.”

US Department of State: “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will release the 2010 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom on Wednesday, November 17, at 1:20 p.m. in the Press Briefing Room at the U.S. Department of State.”

CNSNews: “Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said today that in the upcoming lameduck session of Congress he will continue to oppose a repeal of the law that bans homosexuals from serving in the U.S. military.”

Guardian: “The average age at which people come out as gay, lesbian or bisexual has fallen steadily over the last four decades, according to Stonewall, the gay rights group. A poll for Stonewall of 1,500 people who were already out found that among the over-60s the average age they had come out was 37. But those in their 30s had come out at an average age of 21, and in the group aged 18 to 24 it was 17.”

Washington Post / Federal Eye: “On Monday, three groups that support lifting the gay ban — the Palm Center at the University of California Santa Barbara, OutServe and Knights Out — said they want lawmakers to pass the [defense authorization bill] whether or not it includes language ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ . . . It’s a risky political calculation that puts them in direct conflict with four larger groups more directly involved with lobbying efforts to end the ban: the Human Rights Campaign, the Center for American Progress, Servicemembers United and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.”

LifeNews: “Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican who is one of the leading pro-life conservatives in the Senate, says the national Republican Party needs a new chairman. He says electing someone to replace Michael Steele, the pro-life advocate who currently runs the GOP, is crucial to the 2012 election campaign to defeat pro-abortion President Barack Obama.”

“Gov. Chet Culver said Monday that he won’t hesitate to fill vacancies on the Iowa Supreme Court if recommendations arrive before his departure.”

Pacific Daily News: “A bill that would require ‘informed consent’ and a 24-hour delay before a woman could get an abortion on Guam moved forward yesterday. Bill 54-30, also known as the Woman’s Reproductive Health Information Act of 2009, was reported to the legislative Rules Committee yesterday with amendments based on recommendations from the attorney general’s office.”

Deutsche Welle: “In her party conference, Angela Merkel reiterated her view that pre-implantation genetic-testing of test-tube fetuses should be banned. But experts say a ban would cause unnecessary stress for couples.”

Weatherford Democrat: “A new zoning code was approved on its first reading by the Weatherford City Council this past week . . . Under the current zoning code, a sexually-oriented business could set up shop anywhere in town. The new zoning code limits those areas, but due to constitutional rights, cannot ban them.”

Geneva Patch: “A proposed zoning amendment and licensing regulations would limit adult businesses that want to locate in Geneva to two industrial areas on the city’s far East Side. The Plan Commission unanimously approved the amendment Thursday after holding a public hearing on the issue.”

The Boston Globe: “Dedham’s Special Town Meeting will take on a number of questions when it meets tomorrow night, from approving the police contract to setting new boundaries for an ‘adult use’ district in town.”

The Hill: “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that he will join a GOP effort to ban congressional earmarks. McConnell, one of the Senate’s biggest proponents of earmarks, said Monday he had come to the conclusion that he had to lead by example in agreeing to the ban.”

Michael Nazir-Ali writing in The Guardian: “Pakistan is a signatory to international agreements which prohibit cruel and degrading punishment. It is time for it to honour its commitments and to stand up to extremist purveyors of hate, if it is to have a respected place in the family of nations. The international community, the UN, the Commonwealth and the EU must do everything they can to make sure this vulnerable woman does not suffer the extreme penalty and that others, like her, are not subjected to months and even years of harassment, imprisonment and anxiety as they await a final verdict on their cases.”

BioEdge: “An English translation of the government report on 2009 euthanasia cases in the Netherlands has been released. It includes the statistics about reported cases plus a number of fascinating case studies, including three in which the doctor did not comply with the criteria.”

“A newly released intelligence report says hard-line Islamist groups want to build a ‘parallel society’ in Canada, which could undermine the country’s social cohesion and foster violence.”

The Heritage Foundation: “As a result of last week’s election, 2011 could be a watershed year for education reform and school choice. Many conservative candidates in the states campaigned on returning to local control in education and expanding school choice options for parents. Several states in particular could see significant movement on the education reform front as new leadership takes the helm in the coming months.”

Law.com: “U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, noted for striking down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, will teach at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law following his retirement at year’s end.”

“[T]he panel isn’t scheduled to make recommendations until January, likely leaving the choice to Gov.-elect Terry Branstad.”

LifeNews: “Nebraska-based late-term abortion practitioner LeRoy Carhart may be hoping to expand his abortion business to Iowa and Maryland but pro-life groups in both states promised to push back.”

“The judicial nominating commission is not balanced. You have 12 Democrats and only one Republican on it, so I think to really restore credibility to the court system, it’s important that they not try to rush to judgment.”

“Democrats in the Iowa Senate Sunday re-elected Michael Gronstal as their majority leader. But in a two-hour-long closed-door meeting, some Democratic Senators lobbied Gronstal to allow a vote on the issue of same-sex marriage.”

Jay Sekulow and Grégor Puppinck writing at New Europe: “Turkey is a real cause of concern for religious freedom, both in Turkey and in Europe. The ECLJ, as an NGO dedicated to the promotion of Religious freedom, we believe secularism is not the appropriate response to contend with Islamism and Pluralism. An empty public space has nothing to propose and even less to oppose. In this regard, the promotion of the European spiritual and moral and morals is essential, and the advocacy for the rights and of Turkish religious minorities is a real duty, especially for Europe.”

Reuters: “Suspected members of a radical Islamist sect in northern Nigeria killed one soldier and seriously injured a second in a drive-by shooting, the latest in a series of such attacks, police said on Monday.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the court in April that argued that the historical practice of reciting the phrase as part of the Pledge in no way violates the U.S. Constitution.

NJtoday.net: “An Assembly committee will consider anti-bullying legislation today. The hearing will be streamed live at: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp.”

Robert Hughes writing at The Huffington Post: “They found that those with any religious affiliation, especially those who identify themselves as conservative Protestants were more likely to think that divorce laws needed to be stricter.”

New York Daily News: “Pastors for two Catholic churches at the center of a sweeping remake of the Brooklyn Diocese say they’re being targeted for tangling with borough Democratic boss Vito Lopez.”

Chicago Tribune: “In the growing debate over proposed permits for new and expanded houses of worship, an Evanston alderman says too much religion in a small area can be bad for business . . . The change would require existing religious institutions to apply for a special use permit if they expand, or rebuild in the case of destruction. New houses of worship would also have to get the permit.”

Naperville Sun: “Neighbors of a house on Army Trail Road where people come to pray together several times daily want to know why that’s being allowed . . . The county also is taking steps to fend off future struggles between religious organizations and homeowners who don’t want them practicing their faith next door. Designed to encompass places of assembly in general, the proposed zoning code changes face considerable opposition from those who contend they would deny the faithful their right to religious freedom.”

Patrick J. Deneen writing at The Washington Post / On Faith: “Linker concludes his book with a criticism of such ‘new atheist’ authors as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, differentiating himself inasmuch as he does not seek the wholesale elimination of religious belief, but rather to ensure that where it persists, that it be quarantined to largely private expressions . . . This view of liberal neutrality, then, disproportionately burdens not religious belief per se, but those religious beliefs that have a public or political dimension. In the American setting, this disproportionate burden falls particularly on evangelical Christian and Catholic believers.”

Renate Sommer writing at New Europe: “Having suffered genocide, displacement and discrimination, the number of religious minorities from Christian and Jewish decent has diminished significantly. Today, only 1% of the Turkish population is Christian or Jewish constituting only 92.000 citizens of Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox or Jewish belief. In addition, the Muslim minority of the 15 to 20 million Alevis in Turkey faces major impediments with regard to the exercise of their belief.”

Twin Cities Daily Planet: “Republican Rep. John Kline is likely to chair the powerful House Education and Labor Committee in the new Congress and already he’s drawing fire from both sides of the aisle. Kline caught praise from religious conservatives when he expressed his support for educational vouchers for Washington, DC, parents that will allow them to spend taxpayer money on religious schooling. But he also has drawn the ire of fiscal conservatives by saying he doesn’t intend to push for the elimination of the Department of Education.”

LifeSiteNews: “ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Joel Oster] commented that, ‘Christians shouldn’t live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians. It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church – an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity.’”

ADF Attorney Jordan Lorence writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “By requiring cigarette manufacturers to place more graphic, hardhitting warning labels on cigarette packages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tacitly agreeing with prolife groups that people will change their minds and their behavior if they can see graphic representations or pictures of how their actions to smoke (or have an abortion) harm others.”

ACLJ: “The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) said today a federal appeals court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance – including the phrase ‘under God’ – in New Hampshire schools, represents a significant and sound decision that sends a message: patriotic, time-honored traditions should be embraced – not targeted for extinction – in our public schools. The ACLJ represented more than 40 members of Congress and more than 80,000 Americans in filing its amicus brief in this case and urged the appeals court to conclude that the Pledge did not violate the First Amendment.”

Freedom From Religion Foundation, et al. v. Hanover School District, et al., No. 09-2473 (1st Cir. Nov. 12, 2010)

Washington Post / PostPartisan: “Less than 24 hours after Cindy McCain threatened to topple Collins from it with her gutsy comments that contradicted her husband’s stance on don’t ask don’t tell, the wife of the senior senator from Arizona backpedaled.”

BBC: “One of India’s leading Muslim groups has appealed against a ruling over the Ayodhya holy site, where a Hindu mob destroyed a mosque 18 years ago. Two months ago, Lucknow High Court said the land should be divided, and that the razed 16th century mosque should not be rebuilt.”

OneNewsNow: “A 13-year-old California boy who was told by school officials to remove a U.S. flag from his bike will once again be able to fly the Stars and Stripes as he rides on campus . . . But on Friday, Superintendent Edward Parraz backtracked on that decision — apparently in response to public outcry.” | For background, see this post.

The Missoulian: “Wednesday marks the second annual Missoula Transgender Day of Recognition, an event that aims to share people’s struggles and triumphs with the community, said Bree Sutherland, Montana TDOR executive director.”

Newsweek: “As gays and lesbians battle in the courts and legislatures for marriage rights, Brown is on a mission to match their determination and dollars. Using direct-mail campaigns, donor outreach, and bus tours around the country, he spreads NOM’s message that preserving ‘traditional marriage’ is necessary to protect families and ensure religious freedom.”

Washington Post: “Sen. John McCain on Sunday said the Pentagon should study how ending the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy would impact troop morale and battle effectiveness, instead of reporting to President Obama and lawmakers on how the Defense Department could lift the gay ban.”

NPR: “. . . What is far less clear is whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, other Senate Democrats and the White House will go to the mat on issues that include a high-profile measure that would end the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ ban on openly gay Americans serving in the military.”

Houston Chronicle: “No one has been brought to trial or convicted under an amended federal hate crimes law in the year since it was expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The Department of Justice reports there are about 76 such cases pending across the country, a category that includes anything from an investigation to an indictment.”

Knoxville News Sentinel: “From a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a Memphis native, watched two soldiers in fatigues smoking outside a military recruiting center in Little Rock. He aimed an assault rifle out the window and fired . . . ‘It’s a war going on against Muslims, and that is why I did it,’ an officer heard him say. ‘You see how I gave up with no problem.’”

Irish Times: “An Irish Catholic priest has been banned by the Vatican from publishing any more of his writings after he suggested homosexuality is ‘simply a facet of the human condition.’”

EU Business: “In a first reading Friday, 31 legislators voted in favour and seven were against the draft law that envisages fines from 2,000 to 10,000 litas (580-2,900 euros, 792-3,955 dollars ) for ‘publicly promoting homosexual relations.’”

ABC: “Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield says Benedictine officials decided it would not be consistent with the university’s mission as a Catholic institution for Tadlock to continue in her job. ” | For background, see this post.

Balkan Insight: “Slavco Dimitrov, from the Coalition of NGOs For the Protection and Promotion of Health and Sexual Rights of Marginalized Groups, said they were sending a petition signed by 28 local NGOs and university professors to the Culture Ministry seeking changes in the wording of school textbooks.”

PinkNews: “A gay couple in Northampton will attempt to marry tomorrow as part of a campaign to open up marriage and civil partnerships to both straight and gay couples.”

The Age: “With Federal Parliament to start debating a Greens motion on same-sex marriage today, an electorate-by-electorate analysis shows sharp differences of opinion around the country, which will fuel divisions inside the Labor Party on the issue.”

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: “The two men’s main point of conflict came in Scalia’s support of directly analyzing the text of legislation when making a ruling compared to Breyer’s support of interpreting the context and values behind a piece of legislation. ”

Department of Justice: “The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Essex County, N.J., that, will resolve the department’s lawsuit against Essex County for refusing to permit a corrections officer to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf.” | Via Religion Clause. | AP report.

Dave Welch writing at WorldNetDaily: “In a move of stunning ignorance, the Baptist General Association of Virginia recently adopted a resolution taking a back-handed slap at the Texas State Board of Education’s vote this year to restore accurate teaching of separation of church and state to social studies curriculum.”

WWLTV (AP): “A state panel recommended Friday that Louisiana’s top education board adopt a new batch of high school biology textbooks, despite complaints that evolution is taught too matter-of-factly in the books.”

Associated Press: “Thirty presidents received more than $1 million in pay and benefits in 2008, according to an analysis of federal tax forms by The Chronicle of Higher Education. More than 1 in 5 chief executives at the 448 institutions surveyed topped $600,000.”

Matthew O’Brien reviews Constitutional Illusions & Anchoring Truths: The Touchstone of the Natural Law (Cambridge University Press) by Hadley Arkes at Public Discourse: “In Constitutional Illusions Arkes revisits in eight chapters a number of the moral, political, and legal problems provoked by American constitutional jurisprudence, which have been the subject of his scholarly and popular writing for nearly fifty years. It is the burden of Arkes’s argument in the book to show that moral reasoning is inescapable—for the average man just as much for the rarified jurist—and to demonstrate the seamless connection between law and morality.”

Barna Group: “Some observers and journalists have described a movement among Reformed churches, pointing to prominent Reformed pastors and new Reformed church associations as a significant trend. A new study from Barna Group explores whether the so-called ‘New Calvinism’ has, as yet, affected the allegiances of pastors and whether Reformed churches are growing.”

Associated Press: “Nearly 128,000 Chinese students studied in America in 2009-10, a 30 percent increase over the previous academic year, the annual study by the Institute of International Education found.”

LifeNews: “In a letter released today, according to Politico, the Tea Party activists, joined by representatives of a gay Republican group, say they want Republicans in Congress to lay off social issues . . . Some of the signers of the letter, Politico indicates, include gay group GOProud’s chairman Christopher Barron, libertarian host Tammy Bruce, bloggers Bruce Carroll, Dan Blatt and Doug Welch and Tea party activists unrelated to the gay rights group . . . 73 percent picked pro-life candidates while just 27 percent supported abortion advocates.” | More from Politico.

Related:

Sen. Jim DeMint: “You can’t be a fiscal conservative and not be a social conservative”

Christian Concern: “Dr Sheila Matthews is going before an Employment Tribunal in Leicester on Monday 15 November, having been forced out of her role at work because of her professional beliefs based on solid scientific research, that children up for adoption are ‘best placed’ with a father and mother in a stable relationship.” | More information from The Christian Post here.

Lee Duigon writing at Chalcedon: “There is a certain amount of mystery involved in this case. In an effort to clear it up, we contacted the official ‘complainant,’ the Fair Housing Center of Western Michigan, based in Grand Rapids. They flatly refused to provide any information about their role in the case, or to answer any questions about it whatsoever. So if at any point we misconstrue their actions or their motives, they have only themselves to blame . . . We hope the person who started this was not a member of the church. But if not, would that mean that the Fair Housing Center had operatives creeping into churches, looking for something to complain about? . . . Ultimately, said [ADF Attorney Joel Oster], ‘common sense prevailed.’ HUD would apparently agree.”

Law Office of Patricia Kane Williams, LLC: “This summer a divided Ninth Circuit held that World Vision, a noted humanitarian organization, could terminate employees on account of their religious beliefs. Although approved for publication, the case offers little guidance because each member of the three-judge panel provided a different analysis for his or her conclusion . . . As is to be expected for a case raising such hot issues, numerous organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Justice, the Christian Legal Society, Alliance Defense Fund, Association for Christian Schools International, etc., appeared as amici curiae.”

ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “During the Q&A at Cornell, a student asked, ‘given that the Court essentially said that CLS was ‘intolerant,’ isn’t it time for CLS to reconsider its beliefs?’ . . . these questions raise a deeper issue: from whom should the church take its cues? . . . I fear that the church, in all its efforts to be ‘relevant,’ has failed to communicate that it strives to take its cues from God Himself — that its epistomology (way of knowing) often differs from the empiricism and naturalism that dominates the modern mind.”

The Gazette (Colorado Springs): “Focus on the Family’s decision Thursday to take over sponsorship of a student-led observance that emphasizes Christianity’s viewpoint on homosexuality has polarized conservatives . . . Jon Henke, co-founder of political-action website The Next Right, said Focus has made a mistake . . . The observance was started in 2005 and called the Day of Truth by the conservative law firm the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Augusta Chronicle (AP): “Focus on the Family, of Colorado Springs, will take over sponsorship of the former ‘Day of Truth,’ which has been co-sponsored since 2005 by Exodus International, a Christian group in Orlando, Fla . . . The Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian attorneys, remains the other co-sponsor.”

Jim Finnegan writing in the Naples Daily News: “A few years ago I had the opportunity to read [Alan Sears] and Craig Osten (Alliance Defense Fund) expose on the well orchestrated homosexual agenda, to force acceptance (the homosexual activists prefer celebration) of their life choice down the throats of Americans whether we like it or not. To say they have been successful in this endeavor would be an understatement. As long as Americans stay silent, activists will succeed in making their life choice for the first time, an accepted open part of our society . . . The Sears and Osten book is a quick and powerful read. Warning, you will see how successful he radical part of the homosexual community has been with their well planned and executed agenda.”

Julie Hörnle, Countering the Dangers of Online Pornography – Shrewd Regulation of Lewd Content? (October 1, 2010). Queen Mary School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 65/2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1686136

“This Article will detail how the UK has responded to the greater risks posed by illegal online content by successively extending the reach of the substantive criminal laws and by taking preventative measures. It will focus on the example of laws on obscene content on the internet and associated online behaviour and in particular on the ‘grooming’ offences, the law on extreme pornography and virtual child abuse images. An assessment of these offences against the ‘harm principle’ is made and while the internet’s role in facilitating such offences is acknowledged, the article argues that in some respect the legislation has overshot the mark.”