Daily Archives: February 14, 2011

Chicago Tribune: “Abortions would be banned in Iowa, including in cases of rape and incest, under a bill approved Monday by a House subcommittee. The measure defines life as beginning at conception.”

NECN.com: “A Kansas physician has agreed not to perform abortions at the space she leases in a Wichita office complex, delaying a lawsuit by her landlord, according to court documents made public Monday.”

Boston Globe: “A South Dakota legislative committee has rejected a bill to outlaw surrogacy arrangements.”

Irish Central: “Islam has become the fastest-growing religion in Ireland, with the number of Muslims increasing nearly 70 percent between 2002 and 2006.”

Europe News: “In a move by Conservative MP Steven Blaney this morning, a private member’s bill was brought before Parliament that would require all voters to show their faces in order to cast ballots at the polls for Federal elections.”

Europe News: “The Dutch government continues to refuse to pay for the security of its threatened Jewish citizens. The Jewish community has stated on various occasions that it is the only group in society which cannot organize activities without including guards or other security measures.”

AP: “Hawaii’s Legislature is poised to pass a bill allowing same-sex civil unions and send it to the governor, who plans to sign it.”

MyCentralJersey.com: “The Township Council has given a $20,000 contract to Red Bank consulting firm Heyer, Gruel & Associates to study the township’s master plan and zoning districts to determine where in the township so-called sexually oriented businesses could be located and whether zoning laws would pass muster in court.”

Kansas City Star: “After a decade, many of Missouri’s charter schools are not doing much better than traditional public schools, a national watchdog group concluded. Two reasons: not getting their fair share of education money or enough monitoring, contends a report by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Chronically low-performing charter schools, the report concluded, should be closed . . . ”

Engage Family Blog: “In a joint letter sent on Monday to each candidate running in the special election for governor, leaders from West Virginians for Life and the Family Policy Council of West Virginia (FPCWV) challenge lawmakers to sign the, “Vote for Life” Pledge. The letter, signed by Karen Cross and Jeremiah Dys, also urges the pro-life community in West Virginia to commit to voting only for a candidate who refuses the millions of dollars the abortion industry offers to many candidates today.”

A prominent Maryland state senator said Monday that he will support legalizing same-sex marriage, bringing the bill to within one vote of the number needed for passage in his chamber.

Christian Post: “The American Civil Liberties Union, backed by groups including Prison Fellowship and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is demanding that officials at a regional corrections facility in Virginia end their illegal censoring of religious materials sent to detainees.”

Examiner.com: In his article on Wired, Venkatish found that “sex workers were turning to Facebook: 83 percent have a Facebook page, and I estimate that by the end of 2011, Facebook will be the leading on-line recruitment space.”

ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Fla. A&M reinstates Christian student group after receiving ADF letter | MP3 audio 16:58 mins

CNET: “Scott Seitz has the dubious distinction of proposing what might become the most controversial new top-level Internet domain: .gay.”

Toronto Sun: “Finding one’s better half can be a tricky business in modern-day China, with hectic work schedules, nagging parents and a gender imbalance conspiring to make selecting a partner a nightmare for single men.”

Christian Post: “The Archbishop of York is among the Christians in the United Kingdom speaking out against the Government’s plans to allow same-sex couples to have their civil partnership ceremonies in churches, synagogues and other places of worship.”

Politico: “Lawmakers in at least 10 states have introduced bills requiring presidential candidates to provide some form of proof that they are natural-born citizens, a ballot qualification rule designed to address widespread rumors on the right that Obama was not born in the United States.”

Christian Newswire: “United Methodism’s future will be international, theologically orthodox, and focused on evangelism, not on the fads of declining liberal Protestantism in the U.S.” — Mark Tooley, IRD President

Rick Garnett blogs about and links to conference information at the Mirror of Justice site.

Blog of the Legal Times: “James Graves Jr. is expected to make history today when he becomes the first African American from Mississippi to be confirmed for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.”

The You Tube video can be viewed here.

The Hill: This is not an ‘I got the message’ budget,” McConnell said in a floor speech. “It’s unserious and it’s irresponsible.”

Christian Science Monitor: “It seems Valentine’s Day, when 10 percent of all marriage proposals take place, is one of the few constants in the institution of marriage. Fifty years ago, marriage was between a man and a woman barely into their twenties, of the same race and social class, till death did them part. But marriage today is wildly different. In increasing numbers, Americans no longer feel the need to marry to have sex, have a baby, or even to have financial stability. In short, Americans are redefining what marriage is and why they marry. Here are seven marriage trends in the US.”

One News Now: “Several members of the House and Senate, including Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Mike McIntyre (D-North Carolina) and Randy Forbes (R-Virginia), have written their colleagues, asking them to join in the effort to pressure the agency and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to launch prosecution efforts. Pat Trueman of PornHarms.com tells OneNewsNow that new laws are not needed, but enforcement of the existing ones is vital.”

Peter Heck writes at One News Now: The debate over whether those practicing homosexuality should be eligible to obtain the legal status of “married” for their same-sex relationships is persistently mischaracterized by activists on both sides as an attempt to redefine marriage. For those opposing such a move, this is most likely an error of ignorance, while for those favoring, it likely is an intentional tactic of misdirection. To be clear, in order to “redefine” anything, there must be an alternative definition being advocated. To this point, no such proposed substitute has emerged.

Lynne Marie Kohm writes at the Family Restoration Blog: “Last week we at Regent University School of Law lost a special friend and an important advocate for our work here – Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr. Many of us feel as if we lost a dear friend and relative, as God had blessed us dearly with the presence and encouragement of the Chief Justice for more than a decade.”

Christian Today: “At least nine people, including three children, have been killed in a series of attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State.”

Mirror of Justice: Conducted under the auspices of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, the Vita Institute will educate participants in the fundamentals of human life issues, focusing on beginning of life issues, at the highest academic level from the perspectives of social science, biology, philosophy, theology, law, communication, and counseling, among others.

Change.org: “This week the Board of Regents will meet again, and once more they’ll look at whether the University of Alaska system should expand their nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation.”

Cleveland.com: On its website, ADF said policies prohibiting religious groups from meeting in public spaces have been routinely ruled unconstitutional by courts across the country. Oster said his organization learns about such policies in various ways. In some cases religious groups wanting to use public buildings are denied access and contact ADF for help. Oster said the letter ADF mailed in June has yielded results. He said about half of the 151 governmental entities have changed their meeting-room policies and about one-fourth said they will do so. Oster said the other one-quarter have refused to change their policies. He said ADF may sue them. “We prefer not to file suit but the law is clear,” Oster said. “They can’t discriminate against religious organizations.”

Chuck Colson writes at LifeSiteNews: “In economic terms, divorce and unmarried childbearing cost American taxpayers at least $112 billion per year and significantly increase poverty rates of both mothers and children. Married mothers have lower rates of depression than single or cohabiting mothers.
The social cost is huge—like building prisons.”

LifeSiteNews: “The government of Rwanda is planning to launch a sterilization campaign with the goal of rendering 700,000 men, or about one seventh of the male population, infertile within three years.”

AP: “An Amsterdam court will reconsider dismissing the hate speech trial of one of the Netherland’s most popular leaders, an anti-immigrant politician who has compared Islam to fascism and called for a ban on the Quran.”

Washington Times: “President Obama projects that the gross federal debt will top $15 trillion this year, officially equalling the size of the entire U.S. economy, and will jump to nearly $21 trillion in five years’ time.”

LifeSiteNews: “HSLDA responded, however, that the bill “would give the Illinois Department of Education literally unlimited power to dictate what information homeschoolers must submit.” The organization has strongly encouraged concerned parents to contact their senators . . . Three bills concerning homeschooling have been brought to the New Hampshire House this year . . . ”

LifeNews: While pro-lifers are optimistic about the bill’s survival in the Senate, Woodard said that supporters would “be taking no chances” and continue to lobby for its passage. A vote in the Senate is expected around March 10.

Cady said it was “devastating” to watch the results come in showing then-Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Baker and Michael Streit. But he said he also believed the court was doing its job by striking down the state’s 10-year-old ban on gay marriage. “I’ve not had any second doubts about Varnum v. Brien,” Cady said.

Sioux City Journal: The petition urges lawmakers “to end any conversation about impeaching Supreme Court justices,” she said. The signers of the online petition “believe it’s a waste of time to be talking about impeachment. It’s not an appropriate action to be considering.” Ever since voters ousted Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and two other justices in November, social conservatives have been talking of impeaching the four remaining members who concurred in the unanimous 2009 Varnum v. Brien decision that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Thomas A. Saenz writes at the LA Times: “Thomas A. Saenz, a nationally known Latino civil rights lawyer who led the fight against Proposition 187, the 1994 measure that would have barred illegal immigrants from public services, is among the top candidates Gov. Jerry Brown is considering for the California Supreme Court, according to judges and law professors who have been consulted about the selection.”

NY Times: “New York’s top court officials will bar the state’s hundreds of elected judges from hearing cases involving lawyers and others who make significant contributions to their campaigns, a move that will change the political culture of courts and transform judicial elections by removing an important incentive lawyers have for contributing.”

Independent Record: “We are writing to express our disappointment and voice our concerns over the comments that Congressman Rehberg recently made at a joint session of the Montana Legislature. Although Congressman Rehberg didn’t identify by name U.S. District Judge Don Molloy — our dad — it was clear to whom he referred.”

Religion Clause Blog: “The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of appeals yesterday heard oral arguments (recording of full arguments) in in C.F. v. Capistrano Unified High School. In the case, the district court found that an in-class comment by high school history teacher James Corbett which characterized creationism as “superstitious nonsense” violated the Establishment Clause . . . ”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Smith v. Jefferson County Board of School Commissioners, (6th Cir., Feb. 11, 2011), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, en banc, in an 11-4 opinion, held that two plaintiff school teachers have standing as municipal taxpayers to bring an Establishment Clause challenge to the closing of the a Tennessee school district’s alternative school and its outsourcing the services instead to a Christian private school.”

Rasmussen: “A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of American Adults favor prayer in public schools.”

Like other terms that swiftly achieve common usage, “sexual orientation” is rarely examined. Yet “sexual orientation” is more than a neutral term that can be used to describe anyone’s sexual inclinations. It is a radical challenge to the beliefs of all major religious faiths because it attacks the notion that sexual behavior has moral dimensions. It especially challenges Christianity.

WorldNetDaily: “It’s just this simple,” says Joseph Farah of WND and the campaign targeting House Republicans alone to freeze the debt limit. “Republicans alone can do this. They are holding all the cards. They simply need to vote no as a bloc on raising the debt limit. At that point, the funding to implement ‘Obamacare’ dries up on the vine.”

AnnArbor.com: “Despite losses in the lower courts, Ward and her attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District to step in. The ACLU believes EMU should win this round as well.”

Gay People’s Chronicle: “The Ohio Supreme Court has heard a case that could whittle away at gay and lesbian couples’ right to shared parenting agreements . . . The 2002 case, In re Bonfield, has become one of the bedrock Ohio cases protecting non-traditional families . . . Not surprisingly, the friends of the court filings on both sides are similar to those filed in Bonfield, with the ACLU, social workers and the National Center for Lesbian Rights siding with Hobbs, and the anti-gay Liberty Counsel and Alliance Defense Fund with Mullen.”

LifeNews: “A newly-uncovered police report concerning a September 2008 incident reveals staff at a Kennewick, Washington Planned Parenthood doing everything possible to arrange an abortion for a 14-year-old girl who had been a victim of statutory rape by a 20-year-old man.”

One News Now: Jeremy Tedesco with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) finds plenty of constitutional dangers with that school policy. “It’s unconstitutional in and of itself to say you can’t meet or speak on campus unless a government employee is present the entire time you want to meet or speak,” the attorney explains. “But then to set up a situation where the university appoints advisors for you . . .

Star Parker writes at Townhall: The foundation of the world view that so-called “gay conservatives” embrace has far more in common with liberalism than with conservatism. It’s a world view that is man-centered rather than God-centered. It is a world view that rejects eternal truths passed on from the beginning of time. Although the world view that “gay conservatives” choose to invent may diverge from the world view of liberals, their common ground is they make it all up. And it is here where “gay conservatives” and “liberals” fundamentally depart from conservatives.

Doug Giles writes at Townhall: It appears as if this multicultural smack we’re being sold in the U.S. didn’t work out too well in the U.K. Just this past week British Prime Minister David Cameron echoed German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s sentiments from last October that their country’s Pollyanna policy of multicultural yumminess toward Islam’s “way of life” was, in retrospect, really stupid—as in really, really, really stupid.

A letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius signed by 46 members of the U.S. House of Representatives Friday asks her to explain why her department is seeking to repeal conscience protections for health care workers in light of known attacks on such workers.

AP: “China says it will conduct national-security reviews of foreign attempts to buy local companies in fields including farming and transportation in a move that might fuel complaints it is blocking access to its markets.”

AP: “Britain’s High Court has rejected an attempt to loosen the law so that women can take a second dose of a pill at home to complete early abortions.”

AP: ” . . . he fiscal blueprint largely ignores his own deficit commission’s recommendations to slash huge entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.”

SCOTUS Blog: “Virginia asks the Court to gather up all of the health care law’s challenges from the federal appeals courts, and decide all of them in one omnibus proceeding dealing with every issue. The constitutional controversy has mired the nation in uncertainty, the state argues.”

The Hill: “Paul won with 30 percent of the vote, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who took 23 percent of the vote, a second place finish that CPAC organizers are already touting.”

AZ Republic: “Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., will announce Monday that he will run for the U.S. Senate being vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl, a source has told The Arizona Republic.”

Kolber, Adam J., Alternative Burdens on Freedom of Conscience (November 29, 2010). San Diego Law Review, Vol. 47, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1757243

Rena M. Lindevaldsen, The Fallacy of Neutrality From Beginning to End: The Battle Between Religious Liberties and Rights Based on Homosexual Conduct, 4 Liberty University Law Review 425-463 (2010).