Daily Archives: February 16, 2011

ADF-allied attorney sends letter on behalf of Christian students objecting to definition that singles out Christians as oppressors

Midlandsconnect.com: “Health insurance companies would only be able to offer coverage of abortions if people pay a separate premium in South Carolina under a proposal that critics say would effectively end all insurance for the procedures.”

WHSV.com: “No regular health insurance policy, public or private, could cover abortion services in West Virginia under legislation advancing in the House of Delegates.”

Daily Mail: “How long does it take for a simple message to sink in? During and since the Commons debate on prisoners’ voting rights, there have been regular allusions to Britain’s or Parliament’s ‘sovereignty’. Such sovereignty has not existed since we became members of the EU, or Common Market as it was then called, in 1973.”

Europe News: The court based “denigration of religious doctrines” on the fact that Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff had characterized Mohammed as “pedophiliac” because — according to Islamic legend — he had sex with nine year-old Aisha. In the court’s view, this was “denigrating” because Mohammed did not have sex exclusively with children but also with grown women, and stayed with Aisha until his death when she was eighteen years old. So he was not inclined to pedophilia.

Torrent Freak: “The US Government has yet again shuttered several domain names this week. The Department of Justice and Homeland Security’s ICE office proudly announced that they had seized domains related to counterfeit goods and child pornography. What they failed to mention, however, is that one of the targeted domains belongs to a free DNS provider, and that 84,000 websites were wrongfully accused of links to child pornography crimes.”

Todd Starnes reports at Fox News: he definition is listed in a document called, “The Principles of Community.” It defines “Religious/Spiritual Discrimination” as “The loss of power and privilege to those who do not practice the dominant culture’s religion. In the United States, this is institutionalized oppressions toward those who are not Christian.” “This is radical political correctness run amok,” said David French, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund . . .

David French writes at National Review Phi Beta Cons: “When you spend any amount of time defending free speech and religious liberty, it’s hard not to be impressed at the sheer creativity and audacity of efforts to censor students and force them to bend to the secular-Left academic establishment. And now comes word that UC-Davis has taken political correctness to bizarre new heights.”

Americans U. for Life: “Telemed abortions” have made headlines in the last year, and with that attention AUL has received numerous requests from state legislators and policy groups seeking to curb the practice. While this issue is so “hot,” states have the perfect opportunity to protect women by regulating the provision of abortion-inducing drugs.

STLToday: “Parents unhappy with their children’s public schools could demand new management, admission at other public schools or scholarships to cover private school tuition under a bill presented to a House committee this morning.”

Richard Cohen at the Washington Post:The New York Post reports that the mob that set upon Logan yelled “Jew, Jew.”

Charisma Online: “Christians deserve the same protections against religious discrimination as any other students on a public university campus,” says Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Senior Counsel David French. “It’s ridiculously absurd to single out Christians as oppressors and non-Christians as the only oppressed people on campus when the facts show that public universities are more hostile to Christians than anyone else.” A from ADF-allied attorney Tim Swickard to UC-Davis explains, “It is patently clear that UC Davis’s definition of religious discrimination is blatantly unconstitutional under both the Federal and California State Constitutions. The policy singles out some faiths for official school protection while denying the same protection to others solely on the basis of their particular religious views…Moreover, the UC-Davis policy is simply nonsensical given the environment on most University campuses where Christian students, if anything, are among the most likely to be subjected to discrimination because of their faith.”

CBC News: “The mayor of Saguenay, Que., said he will appeal a decision by the province’s human rights tribunal that bans prayer at city council.”

“Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George’s), one of a handful of Maryland senators who had not declared a position on same-sex marriage, said Wednesday that he intends to vote against the bill.”

Christian Post: “The South Korean government has stepped up changes to its passport rules following complaints from foreign governments of lawbreakers and amid increased activities to spread the gospel in the Middle East.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8keQuYXB02o

AP: “Thousands of people descended on the Wisconsin state Capitol again Wednesday to protest a bill that would strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights, but Gov. Scott Walker insisted he has the votes to pass the measure.”

AP: Republicans plan changes to sweeping union bill

Boston Globe: “New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch will veto legislation to end the practice of requiring nonunion members to pay a share of collective bargaining costs if it reaches his desk.”

Christian Today: “When it comes to equality legislation, permission often turns rapidly into coercion. In a country where faith-based adoption agencies have been forced to close or cut their religious ties by equality law, where Christian marriage registrars can be dismissed for their religious views on marriage and where Christian B & B owners are forced to pay compensation to same-sex couples, Christians will need a great deal of reassurance that the Government is not about to do something that will make their situation even worse.”

Washington Post: “Nearly 12 years ago, in the aftermath of the shootings at Columbine High School, officials quietly posted the Ten Commandments on the walls of Giles County public schools. It was a natural reaction, said residents of this rural county peppered with churches, to such an alarming moral breakdown.”

The Examiner: “Why is the G.O.P. trying to send women back – to the back alley,” asks actress Lisa  Edelstein,  in what will quickly become known as “The Coat Hanger” pro-abortion ad. The ad was launched today by MoveOn.org, a timely punch-back at  abortion bills, now making way through a Republican controlled House,   which conservative groups hope will protect taxpayer money from being used for funding abortion.”

The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter Monday to the University of Michigan over unconstitutional fees it assessed to a pro-life student group after it sponsored a speaking event with Dr. Alveda King, the pro-life niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MSNBC: “A Utah lawmaker has introduced two new bills that would allow doctors to refuse to perform abortions based on religious or moral grounds. Republican Rep. Carl Wimmer of Herriman says House Bill 353 . . . ”

Fox News: “House Bill 1171 would expand the legal definition of justifiable homicide in the state. Critics said the measure legalizes the killing of abortion providers by saying a homicide is permissible if committed by a person “while resisting an attempt to harm” an unborn fetus.”

UPI: “The Indiana House approved the measure Tuesday on a 70-26 vote, The Indianapolis Star reported. Every Republican but one voted in favor, along with 11 Democrats.”

LifeSiteNews: “Personhood bills and amendments are gaining notice and approval across the United States, with a one such bill having passed the House in North Dakota and another the Iowa House subcommittee. Georgia, Montana, Texas, and Oklahoma have also introduced personhood legislation, reports Personhood USA.”

LifeSiteNews: “But in Kansas, a very different scenario is unfolding, one that pro-life activists plan to expose in a webcast Tuesday night. State officials are seeking to strip the law license of former Attorney General Phill Kline for pursuing his criminal case against Planned Parenthood’s cover-up of child rape, the only case of its kind against the abortion giant in U.S. history.”

LifeNews: “This doesn’t even rise to the level of government run amok. It was government not running at all. To call this unacceptable doesn’t say enough. It’s despicable,’’ Corbett said.

KJCT8.com: “The lawmakers, including House Speaker Ed Buchanan, are represented by the Alliance Defense Fund. The fund is an Arizona-based Christian civil rights group that has litigated against same-sex marriage in California.”

KNDO.com: “The fact that they’re using the A.D.F. which has a political agenda against gays, reproductive right for women, those kinds of things, to me that’s not what Yakima needs to be represented by”, says Guillen. During the meeting Mayor Micah Cawley rebutted that the city is only getting guidance from the ADF on the prayer issue, not any other topics.

Yakima-Herald: “The new policy was crafted from model language offered by the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of lawyers whose stated goal is to defend freedom of religious expression. Council members say they expect the group to defend the city against legal action . . . Present along with his family Tuesday was Gonzalo Guillén, a local schoolteacher and member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation whose complaint against the council’s prayer policy started the soul searching . . . He also accused the Alliance Defense Fund of taking right-wing stances on hot-button topics like gay rights and abortion rights . . . ”

One News Now (includes photo of Matt): Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, applauds lawmakers’ desire to see those laws enforced, not repealed. “It’s right for the members of the United States House to be concerned that the administration of the federal government would decide not to enforce those laws,” says Bowman, “especially in light of the fact that the Alliance Defense Fund has represented already three clients in…the last year who have faith violations of these federal conscience laws.”

Times-Herald: Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for The Alliance Defense Fund, said he doesn’t think there has been a formal decision rendered by the DOJ. “The Department of Justice frequently takes quite a bit of time to investigate,” Stanley said. “All Souls just didn’t have the time to wait around.” Stanley said that ADF was contacted by All Souls.

Charisma Online (includes photo of Matt Bowman): “Medical professionals should not be punished for holding to their beliefs, and they should not be forced to perform abortions against their conscience,” says ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “Members of the House are justified in asking why the Obama administration would be seeking to repeal such protections, especially in light of the recent examples of abuse involving ADF clients.”

Bob Ellis writes at Dakota Voice: “This update from the Alliance Defense Fund shows just a few of the assaults on religious freedom–some by “protected” groups and some by government itself at the behest of “protected” groups . . . ”

TheTownTalk.com: “The event also featured the introduction of the law school’s dean, J. Michael Johnson, a Shreveport native who was senior legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. A call seeking comment from Johnson was not returned Tuesday.”

Casey Mattox writes at Speak Up Blog: The University of California-Davis has an interesting twist on its nondiscrimination rule.  In its definition of “religious discrimination” UC Davis goes out of its way to make clear that the policy protects all students regardless of their religious beliefs … unless those beliefs are Christian . . .

LA Times: “The California Supreme Court will decide Wednesday whether to plunge back into the legal battle over same-sex marriage.”

The NY Times Editorial, titled Danger Threats: “Representative Denny Rehberg, a Republican and Montana’s House member, boasts that he brings Made-in-Montana solutions to Washington. His latest, proposed last week in a speech advocating states’ rights to the State Legislature, is to put a judge ‘on the Endangered Species List.’”

Religion Clause Blog: “Egypt’s military council yesterday selected an 8-member committee to quickly recommend revisions to the country’s constitution.”

Religion Clause Blog: “The complaint (full text) in All Souls Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. Coweta County, Georgia, (ND GA, filed 2/11/2011) claims that applications by other religious and non-religious organizations that are predominately White have received more favorable treatment. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.”

Heritage Foundation: “Last night, on a purely partisan 47–51 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment that would have stopped government unions from organizing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.”

The Hill: McConnell predicted during a radio interview last week that “Senate Republicans are going to unify around whatever reduction they can get out of the House,” and he re-emphasized that point Tuesday. “We’ll see whether the Senate wants to establish different priorities,” he said. “But in terms of the overall reductions, we’re committed to trying to achieve the same amount of reductions in this fiscal year that hopefully the House will be able to pass later this week.”

AFC: “Seventy-four percent of D.C. residents want Congress to restore and expand the highly effective D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, according to a Lester & Associates poll released today by the American Federation for Children (AFC).”

“The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that the city of San Leandro illegally discriminated against a church by not allowing it to use its own property for worship services. The church, Faith Fellowship Foursquare Church, is represented by staff attorneys with Pacific Justice Institute.”

AP: “Police say they’ve foiled a church attack engineered by a radical Muslim sect in northeastern Nigeria.”

AP: “Germany is so desperate to encourage people to have more children that the government is proposing a bill allowing citizens under six to laugh, shout and play at any volume.”

“The Internal Revenue Service says it will need an battalion of 1,054 new auditors and staffers and new facilities at a cost to taxpayers of more than $359 million in fiscal 2012 just to watch over the initial implementation of President Obama’s healthcare reforms. Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax. Their cost: $11.5 million.”

CBS Pittsburgh Local: “A Baldwin man is refusing to take down his lighted crosses. Carl Behr said he isn’t going down without a fight at a Baldwin Borough Council.”

Roll Call: “A slim majority of Republicans are still in disbelief that President Barack Obama, now in his third year in office, was born in the United States and therefore is legally eligible to be president, according to a poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.”