Daily Archives: February 22, 2011

Hit by an aging population and a poor economy, a near-record number of U.S. counties are experiencing more deaths than births in their communities, a phenomenon demographers call “natural decrease”

Christian Post: “State Rep. Carolyn Tomei (D-Milwaukie) introduced House Bill 2721 to remove spiritual treatment as a defense for all homicide charge.”

TPM: Another abortion bill up for vote in the South Dakota House of Representatives would require women to obtain consent from their doctors before having an abortion, after the doctor determines that the decision is “voluntary, uncoerced, and informed.”

Europe News: “Four men launched a horrific attack on a teacher in which they slashed his face and left him with a fractured skull because they did not approve of him teaching religion to Muslim girls.”

Reuters: “Hundreds of people rallied in Boise and ten other Idaho cities on Monday to protest a plan by the state’s schools chief to lay off hundreds of teachers and curtail their collective bargaining.”

CTV: “Aly Hindi, an outspoken imam at Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Scarborough, Ont., said there are more than 200 polygamous Muslim marriages in the Greater Toronto Area alone. The figure is impossible to verify as polygamy among Muslim and other immigrant groups in Canada is often shrouded in mystery.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-MzWgX3fE4&feature=youtube_gdata

One News Now: “Recent accusations of “gay bashing” by a Navy sailor have been proven false — illustrating, says a conservative military watchdog, what’s likely to happen if unabashed, open homosexual behavior is unleashed on the U.S. armed forces.”

Tony Beam writes at the Christian Post: “We’ve all heard the chant from Wisconsin. Someone with a bullhorn bellows, “Tell me what democracy looks like,” and the answer comes back from the throng, “This is what democracy looks like.” Democracy? Really? It looks more like mob rule and an end to our form of government that, by the way, happens to be a Constitutional Republic and not a pure democracy. ”

The Midwest Democracy Project: “Phill Kline took the stand Monday to face allegations that he misled and defied judges, mishandled evidence and said too much to Bill O’Reilly throughout his long investigation of Kansas abortion clinics.”

Breitbart (AP): “U.S. Sen. Harry Reid took aim at the world’s oldest profession Tuesday, telling state lawmakers the time has come to have an adult conversation about Nevada’s legal sex trade if the state hopes to succeed in the 21st century.”

Missoulian: “The Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Monday that would effectively overturn Missoula’s 2010 ordinance banning discrimination against city residents based on their sexual orientation and gender.
House Bill 516 . . . ”

MSNBC:  ”The number is expected to spike this year, when HRC adds availability of surgery-inclusive medical benefits for transgender employees or transgender dependents to the criteria in its annual corporate diversity report card.  To maintain the coveted 100 percent rating when the next Corporate Equality Index is published in the fall, companies will have to offer at least one insurance plan that covers at least $75,000 worth of surgery and other treatments recommended by a patient’s doctor.”

Women’s protections through Patient Safety Ordinance left largely intact after abortionist dismisses lawsuit against Allen County

“Overall, unions put around $400 million into the 2008 campaign to help elect Mr. Obama and other Democrats.”

Miami Herald: “A coalition of labor, civil rights and religious groups rallied in front of the General Assembly offices Monday to call for an end to North Carolina’s ban on public employees’ collective bargaining and to resist state budget cuts at the expense of public sector jobs and programs.”

LiveScience on Yahoo News: “The author of a proposed law in Texas that would require doctors to perform sonograms on women seeking abortions has called the bill “empowering” to women, saying it could help some change their minds about going through with the procedure. But reproductive rights researchers and abortion providers say there’s little scientific evidence that the law will change women’s minds.”

Tulsa World: A handful of bills making it easier to fire public school teachers and expanding the use of charter schools across the state cleared a Senate panel on Monday, despite concerns from some Democrats that the proposals amount to an “assault” on public education.

Boston Globe: “Human Life of Washington challenged the requirements as a violation of the First Amendment. The group didn’t want to reveal its donors in a 2008 campaign opposing an assisted suicide ballot measure.”

NBC Connecticut: “A junior officer at the Sub base in Groton has been granted an honorable discharge after suing the Navy, saying his Quaker beliefs keep him from participating in war.”

Helena Independent: “A Bill that would prevent abortion providers from offering materials to students and force school districts to provide parents with an opt-in option for sex education courses passed the House. The House voted 71 to 29 to approve House Bill 456 . . . ”

Canada.com: “The city of Saguenay said Tuesday it has already garnered $53,418 as part of a high-profile campaign to fund a legal battle against citizens who want Mayor Jean Tremblay to stop reading a prayer at the opening of city council meetings.”

News & Advance: “Giles County Schools has removed all displays of the Ten Commandments in the county’s schools, and the school system’s technology center again, according to Superintendent Terry Arbogast.”

Christian Newswire: “The countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Pakistan are among the top 11 persecutors of Christians, according to the Open Doors 2011 World Watch List . . . To address some of the abuses of religious freedom, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) has introduced H.R. 440, a House bill which would create the post of “Special Envoy.”"

“As even pro-union FDR understood, collective-bargaining rights for government workers is the ultimate conflict of interest. What is really at stake in the Wisconsin donnybrook is whether individual liberty or government power has the upper hand in our country.”

Fox News: “But opinion polls show the union image slipping as they prepare for battle, both at the federal and state level. In Wisconsin, unions are uniting in opposition to a proposal from Republican Gov. Scott Walker to restrict collective bargaining rights and require higher benefits contributions from state workers. But a new Rasmussen Reports poll showed 48 percent of likely voters agree with Walker.”

Washington Examiner: “But even the claim that AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, or even the SEIU, are representative of some kind of grassroots movement denies everything we know about unions. First is their political access: Then-SEIU president Andy Stern not only served on the president’s deficit commission, he was also the top visitor to the White House in 2009, the first year Obama was in office. Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO’s head boss, is on tape saying that he talks to someone at the White House every day. There’s a word for this, and it’s not “grassroots.”

Dayton Daily News: “Unions say thousands of their members and supporters will rally at the state capitol Tuesday afternoon as lawmakers hold a hearing on state Senate Bill 5.”

NPR (includes audio): “But the movement is going national now because anti-union efforts are cropping up in many states.”

“House Democratic lawmakers in Indiana have begun a de facto walkout in an effort to block a Republican-backed bill that would restrict private-sector union rights . . . The strategy is possible because Republicans make up 60 of 100 House seats. ”

Chicago Tribune: “Representatives of the Vermont Education Association and of nurses at Fletcher Allen Health Care will stage a noontime rally at the Statehouse in Montpelier.”

NJ.com: “Several N.J. unions are planning a rally at the Statehouse Friday in support of public workers in Wisconsin . . . ”

LifeSiteNews: “Pro Life Campaign commissioned a survey of 1,025 people over 18 and found that 68 percent support constitutional protection for the unborn, 26 percent oppose it and 5 percent don’t know or have no opinion.”

Catholic Culture: “Tony Abbott, the leader of Australia’s opposition coalition, has indicated that he will not swerve from his opposition to legal recognition of same-sex marriage.”

LifeSiteNews (includes video): “Bernard Nathanson, the former abortionist turned top pro-life activist who is perhaps best known for his role in creating the pro-life video The Silent Scream, died at the age of 84 this morning after a lengthy battle with cancer, reports the National Catholic Register.”

Ninth Circuit Public Information Office: “The Hon. David R. Thompson of San Diego, an esteemed senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, died Saturday, February 19, 2011, after a sudden illness. He was 80.”

ADF Attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss recent Department of Health and Human Services rules that undermine the conscience rights of healthcare providers.  | MP3 audio 12:18 mins | Related ADF Media

CNA: The Alliance Defense Fund – a Christian legal alliance – reported that affiliated attorney Timothy J. Swickard wrote the university on Feb. 16 on behalf of 25 students who found policy offensive. UC Davis responded the same day, stating that the student’s concerns were noted and that the language was removed until further consideration

One News Now: “The county planner had looked at the application and had seen every reason to grant the application,” accounts Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Erik Stanley. “But when All Souls went before the county council, something happened that frequently happens to churches — the county council denied the application, even though there was no objective reason to do so.”

Carol Platt Liebau writes at Townhall: “There’s no doubt that the government-union protests taking place in Madison, Wisconsin are about fiscal responsibility, and the public sector learning to live within its means. But they’re also about much, much more. Above all, the conflict is about whether Americans will continue to be divided into two different classes: Government workers, and the rest of us.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Burke v. State of Indiana, (IN App., Feb. 21, 2011), the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a provision that enhances burglary to a Class B felony if the building involved was one that is used for religious worship.”

AP: “He didn’t say which workers would be targeted but he has repeatedly warned that up to 1,500 workers could lose their jobs by July if his proposal isn’t passed.”

AP: “Republicans suspect a dodge to make it harder for them to track the money as they strategize over how to block the law by shutting off the spigot of federal funds.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Natural News today reports on proposed legislation in Washington state and New Jersey that would place new limits on religious exemptions from mandatory vaccination requirements.”

Steven Malanga writes at the Wall Street Journal: “At last, politicians and voters are fighting back against the most potent lobby for government spending and ever-higher taxes.”

AP: “McCreary and Pulaski counties had appealed recent lower court rulings barring them from posting the commandments, despite changes to the displays to include multiple religious and government documents.”

Life News: “In two recent interviews responding to the national videos that have received so much attention, former Planned Parenthood abortion clinic director Abby Johnson says the abortion business has a history of tolerating sex trafficking.”

AP: “The court on Tuesday refused to hear an appeal from two newspaper companies, the American Civil Liberties Union and a Nye County brothel called the Shady Lady Ranch.”

SCOTUS Blog Live Blog: “09-152 Brusewitz v. Wyatt, Justice Scalia writes for the Court. The vote is 6-2. The Court rules that a 1986 federal law setting up a program to compensate for injuries due to administration of vaccines preempts all design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers by individuals seeking compensation for injury or death. The lower Court is affirmed. The majority opinion is joined by five other Justices. Justice Breyer filed a concurring opinion. Justice Sotomayor disstented joined by Justice Ginsburg. Justice Kagan took no part.” | The AP reports here.

The Hill: “I have only been here 40 days and may be new to the process, but I must wonder why the Senate is taking this week off if they are so concerned about a shutdown on March 4th,” Buerkle said in a statement.

LifeNews: The Pro Life Campaign a leading pro-life group in Ireland, told LifeNews.com it welcomes the official statement from Fine Gael, the majority opposition party in Ireland and the party that will lead the next government, calling it a “very significant development.”

NBCBayArea: Self-described “civil rights advocates” say that a ballot proposition to ban circumcision is on track for gathering signatures, meaning that San Franciscans may vote on the measure this November.

“Arizona is one step closer to making it illegal to perform abortions based on the gender or race of the fetus – a move that critics say is a solution in search of a problem. But a majority of the Arizona House of Representatives on Monday agreed that there should be safeguards against such a procedure and passed House Bill 2443 a 41-18 vote . . . ”