Daily Archives: January 14, 2011

Susan Martinuk writing in the Calgary Herald: Then-Justice Minister Irwin Cotler vociferously denied that his proposed changes to the federal Civil Marriage Act would eventually put religious freedom to the test. But if his protests rang hollow then, they seem downright laughable now . . . [The Saskatchewan marriage commissioner] decision makes it abundantly clear that Canada’s courts and even our precious Charter do not protect all rights equally. The Court has ruled that the Charter right to religious freedom and to practise one’s faith is less important that the equality rights of gays and lesbians.”

In the “Miscellaneous” section of today’s ADF Alliance Alert, we have covered numerous child pornography prosecutions around the country. All or nearly all of the reports are from today or yesterday. This is just a small sample of available media reports that evidence an overwhelming epidemic affecting every area of the country and all ages. The sample doesn’t begin to address other kinds of pornography which are degrading cultures around the world. It would overwhelm us to attempt to provide comprehensive coverage of these things on a daily basis.

The Alliance Defense Fund has joined with Gateways to Better Education to encourage churches to celebrate Religious Freedom Day Sunday and help equip their members with vital information regarding religious freedom in public schools.

CNSNews: “‘This is a child pornography case that does not involve a child,’ Peel’s lawyers told the court in their brief. They are claiming violations of the First Amendment and of the Constitution’s bar against ex post facto convictions for violating laws that were not in place when an alleged crime occurred.”

United States v. Peel, No. 07-3933 (7th Cir. Feb. 12, 2010)

LifeNews: “Republican Party officials gave their votes, after several rounds of balloting, to Reince Priebus to replace embattled chairman Michael Steele as the party and pro-life movement prepare for the 2012 presidential election.”

Eugene Volokh writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: “The opinion is Murray v. Geithner (E.D. Mich.), decided today). I think the result is quite right, for reasons I mentioned when the lawsuit was first filed, and when the court rejected the government’s motion to dismiss.”

National Association of Scholars: “The National Association of Scholars (NAS) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case Ward v. Wilbanks, a case before the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Julea Ward was a student who was expelled from the Eastern Michigan University counseling program after she expressed her religious convictions about homosexuality to some of her professors . . . The Alliance Defense Fund is representing Julea Ward in a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. NAS calls on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the district court‘s denial of Ward‘s motion for summary judgment.”

NewsDay: “Polygamy is an institution that has survived many centuries and despite the campaigns to do away with this practice, it is still deeply rooted in Zimbabwe.”

Yahoo: “The House Republicans are preparing to strip NPR of its federal funding. Unlike abortive attempts to deny funding to public broadcasting in the 1990s, prospects of success are brighter thanks to the budget deficit and the firing of Juan Williams.”

NDTV: “The police has filed a chargesheet against 27 accused in the brutal attack on Professor T. J. Joseph, a private college lecturer in Kerala. His right hand had been chopped off allegedly by activists of the radical outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) on July 4, 2010.”

Baptist Press: “On the heels of the placement of a portable ultrasound machine in Florida, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s Psalm 139 Project quickly redirected its attention to raising funds for a similar machine to be placed in New Life Pregnancy Centers in Phoenix, Ariz.”

Baptist Press: “At some point in 2010 — 37 years removed from the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision — a doctor in the United States performed the nation’s 53 millionth legal abortion, a sobering stat that ethicists say should drive the public to speak up for the unborn.”

Catholic News Service: “Same-sex unions ‘penalize’ traditional couples and distort the true nature of the family, Pope Benedict XVI said. The many crises that families face are ’caused by the rapid social and cultural changes’ in society, the pope said Jan. 14 in a speech to officials from the city and province of Rome and the Lazio region of Italy.”

Catholic News Agency: “A 2011-2012 school calendar published by the European Union has omitted Christian holidays, while continuing to note important Jewish and Muslim celebrations.”

LifeNews: “Residents of the area and pro-life people from all over the Detroit Metro area will voice their opposition to the proposed Planned Parenthood abortion business at the recently-purchased location of 1625 N. Opdyke Road at a Saturday rally. at 1:00 p.m.”

Associated Press: “President Barack Obama plans to loosen Cuban travel policy to allow students and church groups to go to the communist country, the administration announced Friday.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “In Jan. 13 letters, the NLRB advised the attorneys general of Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah that their states’ voter-approved amendments conflict with federal labor law and are preempted by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

Christian Post: “The Department of Justice on Thursday filed an appeal in two cases in defense of the federal Defense of Marriage Act . . . Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel [Dale Schowengerdt] criticized DOJ’s defense as ‘deficient.’ ‘The administration refuses to make the argument that the Congress made [when establishing DOMA],’ asserted Schowengerdt.”

Billboard: “The CBSC’s Atlantic Regional Panel determined the use of the word ‘faggot’ in the song’s lyrics contravenes the Human Rights Clauses of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code. The word appears three times in the song.”

ABC News: “ABC News’ Jason Ryan reports: The Department of Homeland Security today officially scrapped a Bush-era program designed to use radar technology to detect illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a DHS official and a congressional source.”

CNSNews: “In the report, The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in the United States, is a ‘report card’ where each state and the nation as a whole are graded using a point system based on ‘anti-choice’ and ‘pro-choice’ governors, laws, access to contraceptives and abortions, spousal and parental consent and ‘post viability abortion restriction’ on abortion.”

Mercatus Center: “In the last decade, Congress raised the debt limit ten times. This data provides evidence that the debt limit, far from providing its intended fiscal discipline, has recently served as a symbolic cap which Congress will push higher and higher as spending increases dictate.”

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday told a federal appellate court that the Defense of Marriage Act does not violate the constitutional rights of same-sex married couples or their survivors and is a constitutional exercise of authority by Congress.

“A military advisory commission is recommending that the Pentagon do away with a policy that bans women from serving in combat units, breathing new life into a long-simmering debate.”

Irish Times: “More than 80 same-sex couples have indicated to the General Registrar Office that they wish to enter into a civil partnership.”

CNN: “Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele dropped his re-election bid Friday and endorsed former Bush administration official Maria Cino to succeed him.”

OneNewsNow: “A conservative attorney thinks now might be a good time for New Mexico to amend its constitution so that traditional marriage is protected . . . “clearly, to recognize a so-called ‘gay marriage’ from another state as legally binding would be a first in that state and would run afoul of New Mexico’s history, laws, and public policy,’ contends Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel.”

“His proposal, which he detailed in an interview Wednesday prior to issuing a news release, would grant same-sex couples the same rights and benefits extended to heterosexual couples.”

Ilya Somin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: “The state of Kansas recently asked to join the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Obama health care plan filed by 20 state governments and the National Federation of Independent Business. Ohio, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are also seeking to join the multistate lawsuit, while Virginia and Oklahoma have filed separate challenges to the law. That brings the total number of state governments litigating against the plan to twenty-six.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer Blog: U joins more than 50 institutions, including Oberlin College and Miami University, in offering the option called“gender-neutral.” While such housing is aimed at gay and transgender students it is also for friends or even brothers and sisters.

Deseret News: “A controversial posting by the Weber County sheriff referencing service to God was removed from the department’s main Facebook page . . . An employee . . . didn’t feel the letter was appropriate and complained to Salt Lake-based civil rights attorney Brian Barnard. Barnard sent a letter to Thompson asking him to remove the letter, saying it violated state and federal laws separating church and state.” | Via Religion Clause.

Freedom From Religion Foundation: “‘Because Littleton’s appeal was not a policy item, informal agreement by at least three commissioners propelled it into motion,’ the Gazette reported. ‘And because the commission chair has authority over agendas, it’s a done deal.’ The commission’s action, approved by new Chairwoman Amy Lathen, brought a formal letter of complaint Jan. 13 by the Freedom From Religion Foundation on behalf of an El Paso County resident. ‘Likely starting next week, every Tuesday and Thursday meeting will include prayer,’ the paper reported.”

Reuters: “Rising gasoline prices beat down U.S. consumer sentiment in early January, overshadowing an improved job outlook and passage of temporary federal tax breaks, a survey released on Friday showed.”

phillyburbs.com (AP): “A central Pennsylvania school district wants a self-styled street preacher barred from approaching students at bus stops.”

MinnPost: “Sixteen Republicans in the Minnesota House introduced a bill Thursday that would offer ‘Choose Life’ license plates as an option for vehicle owners. HF91, if passed (and there is no Senate version yet), would require the vanity plates to have a brightly colored, crayon-like image of children and the words ‘Choose Life.’”

KTVQ: “A legislative measure making it illegal to kill an unborn child easily got out of committee despite being mired in the abortion debate.”

Daily Press: “The anti-abortion rally outside of the General Assembly this week had familiar themes of protecting unborn children and rolling back abortion rights. But this week the activists’ pleas were aimed in an unusual direction — at Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.”

Associated Press: “Union leaders plan to launch a multimillion dollar campaign to boost the image of government workers and fend off pay cuts and benefit rollbacks in states under fiscal siege.”

The Hill: “An abortion-rights group gave 19 states failing grades for women’s reproductive rights policies in a new report card released Friday morning and warned that Republican gains in 2010 could hurt its agenda.”

Politico: “A liberal blog transcribed the interview, in which Pawlenty says, ‘I have been a public supporter of maintaining Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and I would support reinstating it as well.’”

“Rep. Glen Casada, R-College Grove, said the bill, which he hopes to file next week, would keep local governments across the state from adopting ‘a patchwork’ of policies toward businesses.”

WTKR: “Federal prosecutors are trying to stop a North Carolina man from helping private individuals avoid taxes by forming a religious entity.”

Detroit Free Press: “An Ypsilanti man claimed the United States should not have bailed out AIG because the insurance giant sells international financial products specifically tailored to Islamic principles. But after more than two years of litigation, a judge said today that such products are not a result of direct government action and represent just a fraction of AIG’s revenue.”

Gordon Deal writing at WSJ This Morning: “Yale Law School Professor Amy Chua is right. I do wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. Now that I know how they do it, I’ll be certain to avoid their methods.”

The Canadian Press: “Residents of a fundamentalist Mormon sect in the small British Columbia commune of Bountiful believe they are adhering to the original word of the religion’s prophet, says a former plural wife and advocate of polygamy.”

Hurriyet Daily News: “State Minister Faruk Çelik on Friday said Turkey is a democratic, secular country and its position, as it continues to work toward EU membership, is very clear and not open to any controversies.”

WLTZ: “A LaGrange man is behind bars after police found out he was distributing child pornography.”

Associated Press: “A Vermont man will be able to get a license plate that refers to a famous passage from the Bible’s New Testament.”

ISPreview: “A new Europe-wide study (‘EUKidsOnline’) by the London School of Economics (LSE), which looked at the use of parental controls and internet filtering, has revealed that UK parents lead the rest of Europe with 54% blocking or filtering their children’s internet access. By contrast the EU average is just 28%, with Romania on the lowest at 9%.”

“The death of a female partner of Cozen O’Connor has put the law firm in the center of a dispute over a cutting-edge same-sex marriage issue—whether a marriage that is legal in one jurisdiction should be recognized as valid in another in which the parties would not have a right to wed.”

Gazette Extra: “Richard A. Granzow, 43, was sentenced in Rock County Court on five felony charges of possession of child pornography.”

Rapid City Journal: “Police have issued a felony arrest warrant for Jacob Lavern Whiting, 21, charging him with possession, manufacturing and distributing child pornography.”

KWTX: “Timothy Allen Gerholdt of Cedar Falls Iowa pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Waco to distribution of child pornography charges stemming from an online undercover sting in 2010.”

MMD Newswire: “A Corpus Christi man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for possessing child pornography announced United States Attorney José Angel Moreno on Wednesday. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).”

Democrat and Chronicle: “Stephen M. Smith of Elm Street, Le Roy, was charged Tuesday with possessing a sexual performance by a child, promoting a sexual performance by a child, and use of a child in a sexual performance, all felonies, said Le Roy Police Detective John Condidorio.”

Pioneer Press: “The 40-year-old Texas man was charged in Minneapolis with producing pornographic images of four girls on 17 occasions over a three-year period.”

Press of Atlantic City: “Anthony Giacoppo, 35, was arrested in September after Hammonton police saw child pornography on his cell phone, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel said.”

digtriad.com: “Joseph Ptacin, 63, of Trinity, was sentenced to 48 months in prison with 20 years of supervised probation to follow.”

Sun Herald: “Officers with Ocean Springs and Jackson County seized downloads of child pornography, as well as a large amount of computer hardware and software, at an Ocean Springs residence where Francis Austin Hawkins, 23, was living after moving to the Coast from Texas.”

Tallahassee.com: “Tallahassee resident, Josember Wilfredo Portillo, 22, was arrested Thursday on child pornography charges, said Susan Newhouse, Tallahassee Police Department spokesperson.”

WAVE: “A federal grand jury in Louisville has indicted 27-year-old Jeremiah Oldham for distributing and possessing child pornography. The indictment comes after an investigation that started with Attorney General Jack Conway’s Cybercrimes Unit.”

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “A former Twin Cities church youth director admitted on Thursday that he shed his electronic ankle bracelet and fled to California days before he was to begin serving 15 years in prison for distributing hundreds of pornographic images of boys and men on the Internet.”

Grand Forks Herald: “Kenneth Mahoney Jr., Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty in October after he was stopped in Pembina, N.D., at the U.S.-Canada port of entry.”

Daily Local News: “Former West Chester teacher David Devine, made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday, entering a not guilty plea on charges he possessed hundreds of images of child pornography.”

Gant Daily: “Clearfield County District Attorney, William A. Shaw, Jr., announced Thursday that charges have been filed against a Clearfield man for possession of child pornography. Shaw identified the defendant as Jerry Kovach, Sr., age 69, of Walnut Street, Clearfield.”

The Spokesman-Review: “John Alan Harmon, 57, was ordered held without bail Thursday on federal allegations that he distributed child pornography last January and in October 2009. The sex offender left prison in 2005 after serving about three years for the same crime.”

NewsWest 9: “Ariel Brunson was sentenced in Midland on Wednesday.”

Kitsap Sun: “Kitsap County prosecutors on Thursday charged James M. Persinger of Bremerton with one count of first-degree possession of child pornography, according to documents filed in Kitsap County District Court.”

Daily Inter Lake: “Kelly Burris entered his plea during a federal court session in Missoula Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch.”

News & Record: “Joseph James Ptacin Jr., 63, will be on 20 years of supervised release after the prison sentence, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Ripley Rand.”

New York Times: “A man whose conviction on child pornography charges won him an unusual champion — the trial judge, Jack B. Weinstein — was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison, the minimum sentence required by law. Even then, Judge Weinstein, of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, was compassionate toward the defendant, allowing him to remain free for two more months, and dismissive of the government’s efforts to get a longer sentence.”

7th Space: “Former Salem resident Kenneth Allen Ballard, age 26, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for knowingly distributing and receiving child pornography over the Internet, United States Attorney Leura G Canary announced today.”

San Francisco Chronicle (AP): “A 66-year-old San Jose man is in federal custody after being convicted on child pornography charges.”

Boston.com (AP): “A Jackman, Maine, kindergarten teacher facing child pornography charges was investigated in New Hampshire 13 years ago for taking photos of students undressing.”

Sea Coast Online: “Ronald Goergen, 47, was sentenced Thursday at U.S. District Court in Concord. He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of children last year.”