Daily Archives: February 23, 2011

Fox News: “Six followers of anti-abortion activist Randall Terry were arrested Wednesday outside the office of House Speaker John Boehner. The protesters were demanding that Boehner, himself a staunch opponent of abortion, not give in to the Senate on the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood.”

STL Today: “Groups representing teachers, administrators and school boards lined up today to oppose a bill that would allow charter schools to be established statewide.”

CNSNews: “Public school teachers in Wisconsin earned a combined $75,587 in total average compensation – wages and benefits – in 2010, according to figures from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).”

UpNorthLive: “The county drain commissioner is being threatened with a lawsuit by the Freedom from Religion Foundation based out of Wisconsin. Dennis Lennox received a letter from the organization saying he needs to remove a cross and nativity scene from his office because it’s illegal and inappropriate.”

Orin Kerr writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: “By taking that position, the Obama Administration has moved the goalposts of the usual role of the Executive branch in defending statutes. Instead of requiring DOJ to defend the constitutionality of all federal statutes if it has a reasonable basis to do so, the new approach invests within DOJ a power to conduct an independent constitutional review of the issues, to decide the main issues in the case — in this case, the degree of scrutiny for gay rights issues — and then, upon deciding the main issue, to decide if there is a reasonable basis for arguing the other side. If you take that view, the Executive Branch essentially has the power to decide what legislation it will defend based on whatever views of the Constitution are popular or associated with that Administration. It changes the role of the Executive branch in defending litigation from the traditional dutiful servant of Congress to major institutional player with a great deal of discretion.”

ABC6.com: “A subcommittee of the Cranston school board has voted to keep a prayer banner on public display at Cranston West High School despite claims by some that it violates the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.”

Citizen Link: “Gary Marx of the Judicial Crisis Network has details here and here. Apparently these nominees are judicial liberals and proud of it. Marx quotes from the application of the only female to be presented by the nominating commission to the governor . . . ”

Washington Post: “The Virginia Senate has postponed a major vote over abortion rights, as Democrats in the chamber hunt for votes to kill last-minute legislation that would regulate clinics where first trimester abortions are performed as hospitals.”

Des Moines Register: “County recorders would be prohibited from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and the Iowa Supreme Court would be unable to rule on the issue under a new bill sponsored by six conservative House Republicans. House File 330 . . . ”

Liberty Counsel: “Today President Barack Obama instructed the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, and the Department of Justice to cease defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). “This is outrageous and unthinkable that the President would abandon the defense of marriage,” said Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “President Obama has betrayed the American people by his refusal to defend the federal law that affirms what many courts upheld as constitutional, namely, that marriage is between one man and one woman,” said Staver.”

“President Obama instructed the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, saying that parts of the law are unconstitutional.”

“The American people have a right to expect their laws to be defended by the very people whose job it is to do so: their government officials. But the administration is making clear that they are simply not going to defend marriage.”

Billings Gazette: “The state Supreme Court struck down the law in 1997. Senate Bill 276 would remove the language from state code. The Senate endorsed the bill Wednesday 41-9.”

An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney representing members of a pro-life student group filed suit against Carleton University Friday for repeatedly blocking the group from expressing its views on campus while allowing other student groups to express themselves freely.

Herald Sun: “Liberal senator Guy Barnett and the Australian Christian Lobby have urged the Federal Government to rule out allowing same-sex couples to marry. The Australian Human Rights Commission told a Senate estimates hearing yesterday that it broadly supported gay marriage . . . ”

Manon McKinnon write at the The American Spectator: “The spectacle in Wisconsin has many of us rethinking the underlying grounds for public sector unions. Many Americans are thinking in terms of the obvious financial implications. But surely others are looking deeper to question the moral underpinnings of these unions and their place in public service.”

Hawaii: “With the signing, Hawaii becomes the seventh state to grant civil unions to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself. Five states and Washington, D.C., permit same-sex marriage.”

AdelaideNow.com.au: “OLDER couples with much to lose are increasingly turning to prenups to protect themselves, experts say.”

“The general direction of the culture is clear: we are moving out of Joel Northrup’s world into Rick Reilly’s world. Along the way, something immeasurably more important than a wrestling match is about to be defaulted.”

http://www.christianpost.com/news/yet-another-delay-in-dalit-christian-affirmative-action-case-49129/

SE Missourian: “A proposed law to limit the use of late-term abortions in Missouri by recasting the definition of a viable unborn child met with both praise and criticism Tuesday at a Senate hearing.”

Hans A. Von Spakovsky writes at National Review: Thanks to the Obama Justice Department, redistricting may touch off contentious court battles over the rule of law.

NOW: “The collusion of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has led to an open declaration of war on the women of this country. The bishops have long sought to enshrine into law those policies of the Catholic Church that subordinate women. And they don’t care how badly women get hurt in the process.”

LifeNews: “As the hearings into bogus ethics charges filed against former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline went into their second day, news surfaced showing a report exonerating Kline and his abortion probe of Planned Parenthood had been concealed for months.”

LifeNews: A new billboard in New York City is causing outrage from abortion advocates upset by the message: “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.”

“Gay marriage supporters asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to allow an order lifting California’s gay marriage ban to take effect right away, according to a court filing.”

Catholic Culture: “On Saturday, Feb. 19, hundreds of Peruvian Catholics gathered at the entrance to the Cathedral of Lima to pray a Rosary for Peace in response to a “Kiss-in Against Homophobia” organized by a small group of homosexuals and lesbians just a few yards away from the church.”

Daily Comet: “S106, to call for a November 2012 statewide referendum to amend the North Carolina Constitution to make clear marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union recognized in the state. Sponsors: Sens. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston; Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, and Dan Soucek, R-Watauga.”

“The House version of the bill would specify that Wyoming wouldn’t recognize same-sex civil unions performed in other states.”

KCAUTV.com (includes video): “Three years ago judge Robert Hanson of Des Moines ruled in favor of six same–sex couples who were refused marriage licenses, a ruling that was upheld unanimously by the Iowa Supreme Court and also led to some big changes in the court.”

“The Maryland Senate on Wednesday advanced the same-sex marriage bill on a preliminary vote of 25 to 22. A final Senate vote on the measure, which is likely to mirror the preliminary vote, has been scheduled for Thursday.”

ADF attorney Jim Campbell appeared on the Bott Radio Network to discuss the Prop 8. litigation. | MP3 audio 27:16 mins

Rebecca Hagelin writes at Townhall: “It’s been brewing for a while, but now it’s official. Last week, the Obama Administration jettisoned a Bush-era regulation that protected the conscience rights of health care workers, replacing it with a stripped-down version.”

Jess Bravin writes at the Wall Street Journal: “The Supreme Court seemed ready Tuesday to hand criminal defendants a new weapon against federal prosecutors, allowing them to contend they were charged under laws that usurp authority the Constitution reserves for state governments.”

The Hill: “Virginia Democrats believe Tim Kaine is their best hope for holding on to their state’s Senate seat, and they see President Obama as the one person who can deliver their dream candidate.”

Rees Lloyd writes at World Net Daily: “A joint statement of two of America’s greatest living military heroes – Adm.l Jeremiah A. Denton (USN, ret.), a POW for seven years, seven months in Vietnam, and Maj. Gen. Patrick H. Brady (USA, ret.), Medal of Honor recipient – calling for the 112th Congress to reinstate the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which was repealed in a rush by the lame-duck session of the Pelosi-Reid-Obama 111th Congress, has sparked a strong and growing response. That response has ranged from an almost immediate action by American Legionnaires in California to pass a formal resolution calling on the 112th Congress to reinstate DADT, to endorsement and re-publication of the joint statement of Adm. Denton and Gen. Brady by such national organizations as the Thomas More Law Center and the Alliance Defense Fund . . . ”

David French writes at National Review Phi Beta Cons: “Fick and Nagl are correct that we can’t just kill our way to victory, but many casual observers of the war don’t comprehend the psychology of warfare. Fick and Nagl do. They understand the profound impact of continual losses on the human psyche and the emotional devastation of death without victory. If there’s one thing that I learned while in Iraq, it’s that our enemy is every bit as human as we are, and even their religious fanaticism does not make them immune to exhaustion or despair.”

Ed Whelan writes at National Review: “And in a lengthy article available here—titled “The Constitutional Right to Refuse: Roe, Casey, and the Fourteenth Amendment Rights of Healthcare Providers”—law professor Mark Rienzi argues that the Court’s 14th Amendment jurisprudence supports recognition of a constitutional right of health-care providers not to participate in abortion.”

“Few protesters in the Middle East connect rising food prices to U.S. monetary policy. But central bankers do.”

NCPA Policy Digest: “A decade ago, two economists — Stacy Dale and Alan Krueger — published a research paper arguing that elite colleges did not seem to give most graduates an earnings boost. Ms. Dale and Mr. Krueger have just finished a new version of the study and the new version comes to the same conclusion, says the New York Times.”

Religion Clause Blog: “In Mead v. Holder, (D DC, Feb. 22, 2011), the district court for the District of Columbia rejected a challenge brought by individuals who object to the mandate to purchase health insurance imposed by the new law– including objecting on religious grounds . . . ”

AP: “Two civil liberties groups have sued the FBI, claiming that one of the agency’s former informants was ordered to target Muslims for surveillance when he infiltrated a California mosque.”

Heritage Foundation Morning Bell: “Walker is right: Government unions are inherently different from private-sector unions. The purpose of private-sector unions is to get workers a larger share of the profits they helped create. But government is a monopoly and earns no profits. All government unions do is redistribute more tax dollars from taxpayers to unions. The left used to understand this. ”

AP: He says neighbors reported seeing several masked men leaving the apartment and shouting “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” suggesting the killing was motivated by the divide between Egypt’s Muslims and its minority Coptic community.

AP: “Democrats kept the Wisconsin Assembly up overnight with a droning filibuster in another desperate attempt to block the Republican governor’s bold plan to strip public sector workers of nearly all of their bargaining rights.”

Providence Journal: “The school district plans to send out dismissal notices to every one of its 1,926 teachers, an unprecedented move that has union leaders up in arms.”