Daily Archives: December 16, 2010

KOCO: “A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won’t let it keep religious signs and symbols on display . . . The examiners came to Perkins last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say ‘Merry Christmas, God With Us.’ were inappropriate. The Bible verse of the day on the bank’s Internet site also had to be taken down.”

Eugene Volokh comments here.

Toronto Star: “Rose McDermott, who teaches political psychology at Brown University in Rhode Island, testified Thursday at a B.C. Supreme Court reference case examining polygamy that she’s conducted a statistical analysis of polygyny — in which a man has multiple wives. McDermott says her data shows that as polygyny increases, so do the rates of maternal mortality, teenage marriages and births, sex trafficking and domestic violence.”

Marina Adshade, economist at Dalhousie University, writing in the Globe and Mail: “In the economic sense a policy is not optimal if someone can be made better off without making others worse off. If this is the criterion, then it has to be that criminalization of polygamy not be an optimal policy. If we allow everyone to act in their own best interests when making marriage choices, and assume that parents act in the best interest of their children, then surely those who chose to live in a polygamous household are better off than they would be in a monogamous household. They have to be because that is the arrangement they have chosen.”

CNSNews: “Sen. Jeff Session (R.-Ala.) told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that there is “no way” someone could master the full 1,924-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill before Congress votes on it later this week.”

Charisma Mag: “‘No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless, and no one should force any sovereign nation to give up its right to protect life in its constitution if it so chooses,’ says ADF Legal Counsel [Roger Kiska], who is based in Europe. ‘In this case, the court wisely upheld that right as it has done in the past. The stakes were clearly high for all of Europe, but also for other Western nations, such as the U.S., because their courts often closely watch how European courts are ruling.’”

Christian Post: “The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that its European Convention does not contain any rights to abortion in the controversial A, B, and C v. Ireland case . . . ‘In this case, the court wisely upheld that right as it has done in the past. The stakes were clearly high for all of Europe, but also for other Western nations, such as the U.S., because their courts often closely watch how European courts are ruling,’ said ADF Legal Counsel [ADF News Release

KWTX: “Starting next year, city buses in Fort Worth will not display religious advertisements after an atheist group’s ads on four buses drew criticism.”

Mesquite Local News: “Representatives from the ACLU met with school officials in May of this year after complaints were filed with the group over charges of ‘proselytizing’ or promoting religion at the school. As a result of that meeting, the school has clamped down on teachers or staff members saying ‘Merry Christmas’ or other statements that could be deemed as religious in nature.”

El Paso Times: “The union representing El Paso police officers has sued over a law passed by voters that seeks to promote family values by ending health benefits for gay and unmarried partners of city employees.”

Kathryn Jean Lopez writing at National Review Online / The Corner: “A pro-life Hill aide points out more Omnibus outrageousness: ‘$327 million is allocated for the Title X Family Planning Program which provides funding to groups like Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation. This is a $10 million increase over last year (FY10 level was $317 million) and a $44 million increase over the last four years (FY07 level was $283 million). (page 979)’”

UPI: “A judge heard arguments Monday from lawyers for Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana or ROCK and the state Transportation Cabinet, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reported. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd said he hopes to rule on the issue soon.”

European Court of Human Rights judgment in Irish case reaffirms that European Convention on Human Rights contains no ‘right’ to abortion

“Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion violates the rights of pregnant women to receive proper medical care in life-threatening cases, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday, harshly criticizing Ireland’s long inaction on the issue.”

“Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown today voiced his support for a stand-alone repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, bringing the bill one vote over the 60-vote threshold that it will need to reach if and when the Senate votes on the measure in the coming weeks.”

Deutsche Welle: “European Union leaders meeting in Brussels have approved a small change to the Lisbon Treaty in order to create a eurozone bailout system.”

Arizona Republic: “As the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center continued to talk Wednesday about the church’s role in medical decisions, the national debate escalated over whether the local bishop’s threat to remove the hospital’s Catholic status was appropriate.”

Daily Mail: “The Director of Public Prosecutions has declined to bring charges against at least 20 people suspected of helping others to commit suicide, it was revealed yesterday. Keir Starmer QC said the cases were ‘difficult’ and involved families where loved ones were accused of assisting in suicide.”

CNSNews: “According to the Census Bureau’s Small Area Poverty and Income Estimates for 2009, the average percentage of those living below the poverty level in the 23 counties that border Mexico is 28.3 percent.”

Tampa Bay Online (AP): “California air quality regulators began hearing testimony Thursday as they considered adopting the nation’s most sweeping greenhouse gas regulations involving financial incentives for power plants and other major polluters to cut emissions.”

Vaterland [Google Translation]: “On Thursday, the votes of Members of Parliament on the Partnership Act [showed] clearly in one direction: to act on the submission of the government was not in dispute.”

“After two failed attempts in as many months to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military, it is now very likely that the Senate will send a bill repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to President Obama before the end of the year.”

Lambda Legal: “The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California will hear oral arguments this Friday, December 17, in a Lambda Legal case that could result in the next major court decision regarding the federal so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act,’ or DOMA.”

ACLU Press Release: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are questioning innocent Americans who are perceived to be Muslim about their religion and their political beliefs without any suspicion that they have done anything wrong, according to a letter the American Civil Liberties Union and Muslim Advocates sent to the top internal watchdog at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today.”

OneNewsNow: “A California porn industry health clinic has shut down in response to an adult film performer who tested positive for HIV . . . ‘The best solution to the problem of sexually transmitted diseases in the adult entertainment industry would be to close it down altogether,’ the Morality in Media president suggests.”

OneNewsNow: “A financial group has scheduled seminars for next year to address the IRS changes affecting churches and pastors in the upcoming tax season. Making correct IRS filings and minimizing taxes are important issues for ministries and pastors, so the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) plans to conduct an hour-long webinar in January and February that will feature leading experts who will discuss IRS requirements for congregations.”

Heritage: “The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis (CDA) conducted a dynamic simulation of a reduction of the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent, comparing it to a baseline forecast of the economy with the current policy of a 35 percent corporate rate.[1] The results of this simulation show the U.S. economy growing faster than the baseline in the 2011–2020 forecast horizon.”

OneNewsNow: “Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, tells OneNewsNow the government’s action is unprecedented. ‘This is an absolute bully club being used by the federal government in this lawsuit against the school to literally force this school to go out of their way to make unreasonable accommodations for a Mecca pilgrimage,’ he says.”

Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethics Issues: “The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today released its first report—a wide-ranging review of the emerging field of synthetic biology—issuing 18 recommendations including a call for coordinated federal oversight of scientists working in both large institutions and smaller settings.”

Commission website | Report | F.A.Q. | International Business Times | Wesley J. Smith

Patrick Allitt writing in The National Interest: “In the decades after the Revolution, growing numbers of Americans attended revivals, joined churches, founded new denominations and blended godly fervor with the pursuit of their worldly goals . . . The [religious liberty] system worked incredibly well, but it did lead to a shift in power from ‘producers’ to ‘consumers.’ Ministers knew that their livelihoods depended on their ability to offer what their congregations wanted. It is striking to see how, under these conditions, their theology began to change, becoming steadily less menacing and more comforting with the passing decades. The God they offered really did seem to be more interested in the pursuit of happiness than in fire and brimstone.”

Denver Post: “A state lawmaker plans to introduce a bill next year that would make Colorado the fourth state to recognize civil unions. Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, said he believes the majority of Coloradans support civil unions and oppose gays being treated unfairly.”

Idaho Press-Tribune: “Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed the lawsuit against the Idaho Public Charter School Commission on behalf of the academy, which was threatened with the revocation of its charter if it used the Bible or any other religious documents or text as part of its curriculum.”

Daily Record: “The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to hear Rockaway Township’s appeal of Christ Church’s exemption from the state Highlands Law. The state top court’s decision on Dec. 10, which was made public on Wednesday, seemingly would clear the way for Christ Church to begin construction on its long-sought mega-church complex off Green Pond Road.”

Hometown Life: “A Bentley Elementary School fourth-grader and his family have agreed to remove a religious item normally required to be worn by their Sikh religion until Plymouth-Canton Community Schools officials can figure out the best way — legally and otherwise — to handle it.”

Quad City Times: “A Rock Island woman claims in a lawsuit that she was discriminated against by her former employer, Milan’s Welcome Inn, in Milan, Ill., because she refused to work on Sundays.”

Globe Gazette editorial: “We believe there is only one place for it to come to a conclusion: The Iowa Supreme Court. That’s why we’re backing a call by the attorney for Mitchell County Mennonites for the high court in Iowa to rule on the county’s ban of the use of steel-wheeled vehicles.”

Paul Kengor writing at The American Spectator: “In the interest of faith and charity, I’d like to add my own ecumenical offering — a history lesson. It concerns some fascinating material I recently published on the ACLU’s early founders, especially three core figures: Roger Baldwin, Harry Ward, and Corliss Lamont. I can only provide a snapshot here, but you’ll get the picture.”

LifeNews: “The report shows it received more government funding, which has translated into more abortions. The nation’s largest abortion business released a factsheet in September showing the number of abortions it performed in 2008 increased to 324,008, a 6.1 percent increase over the 305,310 abortions it did in 2007.”

Reuters: “The local leader of a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Siberia now faces up to two years in prison if found guilty this week of inciting religious hatred for distributing literature about his beliefs.”

Daily Local: “Borough Council rejected First Presbyterian Church’s request to tear down two buildings adjacent to the Miner Street church as part of an expansion plan for the church with more than 2,000 members . . . Earlier this year the church hired a Chicago law firm that specializes in religious land-use cases. The firm, Mauck & Baker, LLC of Chicago, said in an October letter that if council denies the land-development plan it could be a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act..”

In Democracy, Yehudah Mirsky reviews The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History By Samuel Moyn: “Two large questions dog the theory and practice of human rights in our time. Although many claim that these rights have a long ancestry in the history of human thought, why do they seem to have emerged in force only in recent decades? And why does the language of human rights lend itself so easily to abuse, malevolence, and near meaninglessness, to the point where we’ve nearly come to expect that UN human-rights bodies will be chaired by dictatorships?” [Via Instapundit]

“If the people of Iowa demand that the remaining four justices on the state Supreme Court be impeached, Speaker-elect Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) said Wednesday he would not stand in the way . . . . . . State Sen. Kent Sorenson (R-Indianola) said Monday that he will also push for impeachment proceedings.”

“The nominating commission that selects finalists for the Iowa Supreme Court announced a call for applicants this week to fill spots that opened with the ouster of David Baker, Michael Streit and Chief Justice Marsha Ternus. The search is proceeding despite a federal lawsuit filed last week . . . ”

attorneysforlanduse.com (Dalton, Tomich, and Pensler, PLC): “As noted in the Alliance Defense Blog, in Hazel Park, Michigan, city authorities have been doing their red-tape best to gerrymander a local congregation, Salvation Temple Church, out of the district. Happily, a federal judge is making it her business to introduce the town fathers to the First Amendment.” (Joe Infranco, ADF mentioned throughout)

“Whatever their reasons, and they vary widely, French couples are increasingly shunning traditional marriages and opting instead for civil unions, to the point that there are now two civil unions for every three marriages.”

“In a twist, some straights–who are excluded from civil partnerships–want equal time on the not-quite-marriage front. British GLBT equality activist and politician Peter Tatchell means to see that they get it. ‘The ban on heterosexual civil partnerships is just as offensive as the ban on gay civil marriages,’ Tatchell said in a news release circulated by Equal Love, a group dedicated to parity before the law for all couples, whether straight or gay.”

The Hill: “The upper chamber is expected to vote on final passage of the tax package shortly after noon Wednesday, which will clear the way for debate to begin on the nuclear arms treaty and the 1,924-page spending bill.”

Heritage Foundation: Release the START Negotiating Record

Daniel Henninger writing in the Wall Street Journal [full text via Google News]: “Do we pay taxes to support federal, state and local government, to reduce the deficit, or just maybe for something else? . . . What balance between the private and public economies will best allow the U.S. to remain the world’s pre-eminent economic (and military) power for the next generation? That premise matters to how one answers the question about taxation’s purpose.”

The Hill: “Republicans will paralyze the Senate floor for 50 hours by forcing clerks to read every single paragraph of the 1,924-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill.”

WXII: “A High Point City Council member plans to renew his campaign to allow sectarian prayers at meetings.”

J. Christian Adams writing in The Washington Examiner: “One thing worse than a hypocrite is a hypocrite in government office. The Obama Department of Justice has plenty of hypocrites. Nowhere are they more apparent than when they attack the voting rights record of the Bush Justice Department.”

Hudson New York: “The three cables, all of which are from the US Embassy in Madrid, say that Catalonia has become ‘a prime base of operations” for Islamic terrorists; and thanks to uncontrolled immigration the region, it now has a “large Muslim population susceptible to jihadist recruitment.’”

WSJ (AP): “New York’s most influential advocates for gay rights say the chances are better than ever to legalize same-sex marriage, even in a Republican-controlled Senate.”

LifeSiteNews: “The European Court of Human Rights has found that Ireland’s constitutional legal protections for the unborn violated the right to privacy of one of the three applicants in a mixed decision in the much-anticipated ABC case. The Court ordered the Irish government to pay €15,000 to the third applicant within three months. However, at the same time the Court dismissed the complaints of the other two women and found that there is ‘no human right to abortion’ stemming from the European Convention on Human Rights, an aspect of the decision that has been welcomed by pro-life leaders.”

CBS: “A woman’s freedom to choose has taken to the roads. New license plates pushing an anti-abortion pro-life position are about to arrive in New Jersey . . . Dr. Elizabeth Rex of the Children First Foundation said the plate is all about adoption awareness.”

LifeNews: “Senate Democrats introduced an omnibus spending bill yesterday to keep the federal government running into the next fiscal year and the measure contains abortion concerns. The introduction of the bill, which Republicans and pro-life advocates are already opposing, comes as new polling data shows Congress’ approval rating continues at rock bottom.”

LifeNews: “Mila Means has reportedly purchased abortion equipment from the now-closed Women’s Health Care Services formerly operated by Tiller and plans to begin doing abortions on Saturdays at her medical office near East Harry and Webb Road in Wichita.”

Reuters: “Parents of girls under the age of 18 seeking an abortion in Alaska must be notified, under a new law that took effect on Tuesday after a state judge rejected arguments against it.”

“This means . . . reconnecting marriage and parenthood in the public imagination, encouraging both religious and secular civic organizations to reach out to Americans from less-privileged backgrounds, and also urging state lawmakers to reconsider how existing divorce laws are helping — or hurting — our families.”

Des Moines Register: “Three lawyers who challenged the results of Iowa’s Supreme Court retention vote could have raised questions about the ballot before the election, a Drake University law professor said Wednesday. Because they didn’t, the lawyers will most likely have difficulty proving their case, the professor and other legal scholars said.”

New York Times: “When Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey chose not to renominate Justice John Wallace Jr. to the State Supreme Court in May, it was a case of political overreach. The situation is now a national disgrace, thanks to the governor, the State Senate president, Stephen Sweeney, and Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto.”

Paul Munshine writing in the Star Ledger: “Chris Christie’s got a tough choice here:
Is he going to sit back and watch the Democrats self-immolate trying to impeach the sole Latin-American member of the state Supreme Court? Or is he going to let them off the hook by making a recess appointment?”

Related:

Seeking a path to restore order in the NJ Supreme Court

News Journal: “The Delaware Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could undermine, if not cripple, all 150 pending priest sexual-abuse lawsuits in Delaware. In the case of James Sheehan v. Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and Salesianum School, the religious order challenges the constitutionality of the Delaware Child Victims Act of 2007.”

Religion Clause: “In Daniel Chapter One v. FTC, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 25496 (DC Cir., Dec. 10 2010), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that an organization’s formal legal status as a religious corporation sole does not prevent the Federal Trade Commission from regulating its advertisements for dietary supplements.”

Associated Press: “An Indonesian court has sentenced an American businessman to five months in jail for marching into a mosque during Islamic prayers and ripping cables from the loud speakers.”

Associated Press: “Pope Benedict XVI singled out Christians as the religious group that suffers from the most persecution on Thursday, denouncing lack of freedom of worship as an ‘intolerable’ threat to world security.”

SCOTUSblog: “The Justice Department, disagreeing with a strategy preferred by the state of Virginia, plans to go to a federal appeals court rather than directly to the Supreme Court when it appeals a federal judge’s ruling Monday against the new health insurance mandate.”

Charleston Daily Mail: “A major conference of chief justices from around the country will be at the resort in 2014, and officials say the meeting of prominent judicial leaders could be a long-term boost for West Virginia tourism. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robin Davis announced Tuesday that the joint meeting of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators is set for July 2014.”

FRC: “Anyone who’s trying to pick a fight with the Marines over ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ should have to answer this question, which Gen. James Amos turned on a hostile reporter yesterday: ‘Have you been out with the Marines in an intense firefight, you personally?’ The President certainly hasn’t. Nor has his Secretary of Defense. ‘I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction,’ the Commandant warned yesterday.”

IsraelNationalNews.com: “The citizen, 63-year-old Helmut G., was told by the court that his yodeling offended his next-door Muslim neighbors, who accused him of trying to mock and imitate the call of the Muezzin.”

The Desert Rock Voice: “The Alliance Defense Fund (www.alliancedefensefund.org) provided funding to the Home School Legal Defense Association (www.hslda.org) in their effort to assist the Romeikes . . . Two million or about 4% of school-age children in the United States are homeschooled. It’s a much different story overseas.”

CBN News: “A European court ruled Thursday that Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion a violation of human rights . . . Prior to Thursday’s ruling, [Roger Kiska], who is based in Europe and a legal counsel for the American pro-life legal group Alliance Defense Fund, told LifeNews.com the case could set an official policy on the issue for Europe.”

KHQ (AP): “A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit by the defunct Nampa Classical Academy against the state of Idaho can proceed . . . Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based group of Christian lawyers, are representing the academy.”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
“But Mr. Tupi, who volunteers with the religious freedom group Alliance Defense Fund, disagrees with the entire premise that religious displays should be ‘secularized’ if they are to remain on public property. He believes a creche should be allowed, even if it’s not in the context of other holiday items. And he thinks the Supreme Court has misinterpreted the intent of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment, ‘I think under an original intent understanding of the First Amendment, there would be no need to secularize a nativity display any more than there is a need to abolish the holiday of Christmas,’ he said.”

OneNewsNow: “The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is being allowed to represent a German pro-life group in a court challenge to the German government over its denying an assisted suicide request . . . ‘It’s a case of judicial activism. It’s a case that really shouldn’t be before the court, and it certainly may set a very dangerous precedent for all of Europe,’ [Roger Kiska] warns.”

News and Sentinel: “‘When WVU-Parkersburg nursing students voted 40 to 4 to include prayer in Thursday’s pinning ceremony, university officials responded by banning prayer completely because the vote was not unanimous,’ the alliance said. ‘Students voted after being told that the majority would decide the issue, but campus officials reneged, citing legal concerns – particularly potential lawsuits that could be waged by anyone offended by the prayers.’”

Evangelical Examiner: “According to Alliance Defense Fund, they obtained a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Justice last May stating that the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics had stopped pursuing the plan, but the University continued to make statements that seemed to indicated they either were not sure about terminating the program or simply tabling the issue for an undetermined amount of time. However, today’s announcement seems to solidly confirm that late-term abortion plans for UWHC have been fully terminated.”