Daily Archives: March 30, 2011

Family Policy Council of West Virginia: The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for the position of Director of Development. Qualifications for this position are described as . . .

Politico: “The House voted 225-195 Wednesday afternoon to allocate $20 million to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships Program, which stopped accepting new students in 2009. The bill will open the program to new applicants.”

Seattle Times: The Senate voted 28-19 to pass HB 1649, which allows the state to recognize legal unions, including same-sex marriage, from other states as valid domestic partnerships in Washington. The bill now heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire to sign into law.

ADF attorney available to media after defending Christian counselor who referred client seeking advice on same-sex relationship to colleague

Concurring Opinions:  Professor Caroline Mala Corbin has kindly agreed to shed light on the ministerial exception raised by an upcoming Supreme Court case.  She brings significant expertise to the issue: see her excellent Fordham Law Review article Above the Law? The Constitutionality of the Ministerial Exemption from Antidiscrimination Law . . . Earlier this week, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, a case involving the ministerial exception (also known as the ministerial exemption) . . .

Hartford Courant: The General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee ran out of time Wednesday to act on the legislation. A new date for a committee vote, one of the first steps in the legislative process, has not yet been scheduled.

Breitbart.com: “The Republican-led Ohio House voted Wednesday to severely limit the collective bargaining rights of 350,000 public workers across the state, sending a bill that’s sparked pro-labor protests for weeks back to the state Senate.”

Christian Newswire: “It’s been a tough time financially for churches the past three years. But just as a glimmer of hope began to surface this past year, the federal government’s desire to tinker with the charitable tax deduction has most church leaders concerned.”

The Independent: Marriage rates in England and Wales are at their lowest since records began, new statistics show. Just 21.3 out of every 1,000 males aged 16 plus were married in 20 . . .

Jordan Ballor at the Acton Institute: “While the intergenerational effects of these declines will continue to ripple forward through time, the dearth of births America has undergone in the last three decades is having profound consequences today.”

NewsTimes.com: “Proponents of a bill banning elective abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy said the Alabama Legislature’s new Republican majority is responsible for the bill getting overwhelming support in a House committee Wednesday.”

News-Leader: “Senate Democrats stalled legislation Tuesday that would add to Missouri’s restrictions on late-term abortions by allowing them only when a woman’s life is endangered or the pregnancy poses a serious risk of permanent physical injury.”

Daily Mail: Education bosses in Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, have radically restructured the RE syllabus to accommodate non-religious beliefs. Youngsters will continue to learn about the six major faiths – Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism – but they will also be taught humanism, the belief that there is no God or Gods, and that moral values are founded on human nature and experience.

Care2.com: “Jean Wyllys, Brazil’s first openly gay lawmaker, is expected to introduce legislation this week that would legalize same-sex marriage.”

Cal. Family Council: Decreasing incidents of “bullying” is the purported motivation behind several new bills, and that message works with the uninformed – good people care about kids’ safety. But “bullying” is now the vehicle to bring more pro-homosexual content into schools.

Christian Concern for Our Nation: “The aim of the amendment is to ensure that every woman considering an abortion has a right to independent pregnancy counselling before being referred to an abortion provider.”

Christian Institute (includes video): “Intolerance, injustice and unfairness” have been bred in the place of tolerance as society obsesses about rights and equality, a former Home Secretary has said. Lord Waddington made the comments in a Parliamentary debate while raising concerns about proposed new equality regulations which are part of the controversial new Public Sector Equality Duty.

Heritage Foundation: Should Congress be held accountable for the regulatory policies of the federal government?
U.S. Representative Geoff Davis and Senator Rand Paul, both Kentucky Republicans, think it should. They have proposed legislation to force all members of Congress to vote yes or no on major rules that affect business and the economy.

Daily Mail: “An Australian woman is suing a five-star UAE hotel after she was drugged and raped by co-workers – but ended up in jail for eight months for having sex outside marriage.”

One News Now: “A Wisconsin library is being challenged for saying no to a pro-life movie that exposes the abortion industry.” | Related report and Thomas More Society letter to the library

LifeNews: The South Carolina state House approved pro-life bills yesterday by wide margins, including legislation to keeps abortion out of government and private health insurance exchanges created under the new health care law.

LifeSiteNews: The Death with Dignity Act Report is the second released by the state after the legalization of assisted suicide by the voter-approved law that took effect in March 2009. Assisted suicide drugs were dispensed to 87 patients in 2010, 51 of whom reportedly died after ingesting the drugs. The data represents a 42 percent rise . . .

LifeNews: Family Planning Associates, one the largest abortion center chains in California, has closed the abortion business it runs in Newport Beach. That makes it the eighth abortion center across the country to have closed this month.

LifeNews: House Speaker John Boehner appears to be holding fast and insisting that House Republicans will not back down on keeping a provision to revoke taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business in the budget bill.

One News Now: The Christians in the area of Nineveh are working to get their own province — and of course, this is an area that has been dominated mostly by Muslims,” says Craig McDonald of Christian Freedom International.

One News Now: A California-based law group is considering legal action in a case where a teacher reportedly attacked Christianity during class time, calling Christians “zombie worshippers.” . . .

AP: . . . a review by lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security, it was concluded that a law prohibiting the government from recognizing same sex marriages must be followed, despite the Obama administration’s decision to stop defending the constitutionality of the law in court . . .

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: The result: The two biggest and most important Democratic counties in the state likely will be turning out in larger than normal numbers for the Supreme Court contest because of two local elections that normally would never occur together and would not have occurred this April under the regular political calendar.

NOLA.com: More than 500 students, parents and other supporters of St. Augustine High School’s policy of using corporal punishment marched Saturday morning on an Archdiocese of New Orleans office to press their message with Archbishop Gregory Aymond, who has called on school officials to abandon the 60-year practice.

National Review: Iran’s official Fars news agency reports that the Iranian Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned the recent insult to the Muslims’ holy book in the US state of Florida . . . NRO readers may remember that Iran recently suspended Hohabet News after it reported that the Iranian government itself had seized and burned 600 New Testaments in Salmas . . . ”

AsiaNews.it: In Hyderabad and Lahore, a mob of Islamic fundamentalists targeted the Christian places of worship. Desecrated several copies of the Bible. Anti-American slogans and demonstrations in different cities of Pakistan. The extremists pledge more violence, if Washington does not condemn pastor Jones to death. Bishop of Islamabad: the gesture of a “fanatic.

Wichita Eagle: bill blocking most abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy, based on disputed research that fetuses can feel pain, is on its way to Gov. Sam Brownback, who has indicated he will sign it. The House on Tuesday also approved a second bill requiring both parents to consent before a minor can have an abortion. It is expected today to consider a third bill changing the way abortion clinics are licensed . . .

HinduStanTimes: “The police on Tuesday arrested 14 persons, mostly tribals, in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa on the charge of unlawful religious conversion.”

Religion Clause Blog: Al Masyr Al Youm today reports that Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie has invited Coptic Christians to join the Freedom and Justice Party– the new political party which the Brotherhood plans to form.

Religion Clause Blog: In Irshad Learning Center v. County of DuPage, (ND IL, March 28, 2011), an Illinois federal district court dismissed individual capacity claims against county officials, but permitted plaintiffs to move ahead with most of their other challenges to the denial of a conditional use permit to use their property for Muslim religious purposes and educational activities.

Religion Clause Blog: In Workman v. Mingo County Board of Education, (4th Cir., March 22, 2011), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld West Virginia’s statute requiring vaccination for various diseases as a condition of attending school.

Catholic Culture: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is opposing a proposal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of categories to which anti-discrimination policies would apply.

Robert Knight at Townhall: Using a combination of judicial activism, executive malfeasance and legislative cunning, and counting on an anemic “defense” from the leaders of the “party of family values,” the Left is advancing its cultural agenda with remarkable ease.

CNN: “Many months later on a winter night, as Hena’s sister Alya told it, Hena was walking from her room to an outdoor toilet when Mahbub Khan gagged her with cloth, forced her behind nearby shrubbery and beat and raped her . . . The next day, the village elders met to discuss the case at Mahbub Khan’s house, Alya said. The imam pronounced his fatwa. Khan and Hena were found guilty of an illicit relationship. Her punishment under sharia or Islamic law was 101 lashes; his 201.”

Carolyn Castiglia writes at Babble.com: In 2008, when California first sanctioned gay marriage, many people argued that “the California Supreme Court’s legal reasoning could be applied to polygamous and incestuous marriages.” Glen Lavy of the right-wing Alliance Defense Fund wrote in the LA Times, “Although some proponents of same-sex “marriage” have been trying to distance themselves from polygamy, it is, and long has been, defended by powerful voices like the American Civil Liberties Union.” . . . No one wants to see incest supported by society, but victims of GSA need some level of sympathy. After all, if your child was conceived using a donor embryo and he or she wishes to meet her biological parents someday, there’s a 50% chance they’ll experience some level of obsession or Genetic Sexual Attraction, too.

AP: “An anti-union sentiment in the wake of union battles in Wisconsin and Ohio led small-government groups and some lawmakers to call for an end to Nebraska’s commission and collective bargaining rights.”

AP: A court on Wednesday ordered the continuation of the hate speech trial of one of the Netherlands’ most popular leaders, an anti-immigrant politician who has compared Islam to fascism and called for a ban on the Quran.

MainJustice.com: The panel is loaded with DOJ critics . . . Other panelists are Debra Burlingame, Co-Founder of Keep America Safe, and Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.

AP: Malaysia’s main Christian grouping on Wednesday rejected a government attempt to settle a protracted row over seized shipments of Malay-language Bibles, calling instead for the right to freely practice its religion.

AP: Now they face another court order blocking the law, which would strip most public employees of nearly all their collective bargaining rights. And this time the judge has said there will be consequences for violators.

The argument we advanced for man-woman marriage in Part One of this article is sometimes obscured even by proponents of conjugal marriage. It is sometimes argued that the state’s interest in marriage is simply to ensure that as many children as possible are raised in “an optimal setting,” and that this interest justifies “restricting” marriage to opposite-sex couples. But the fact that intact homes are the optimal setting for child-rearing does not by itself justify a policy of recognizing only opposite-sex partnerships as marriages.

Mario Diaz writes at Townhall: So Republican Senators should stop playing “nice” on judicial nominations. Unlike Democrats, who opposed President Bush’s nominees because of their race (see Miguel Estrada), Republicans have been fairly tame in dealing with the steady stream of radical political operatives and ideologues the President has sent them. From judges who believe that praying in the name of Jesus violates the Constitution, but praying in the name of Allah is okay (David Hamilton), to believing a Latino judge makes better decisions than white judges (Sonia Sotomayor), to believing using filters to protect children from obscene materials in public libraries violates “freedom of speech” (Edward Chen), to believing judges should create a constitutional right to welfare (Goodwin Liu), to supporting the rationing of medical services by ranks (Caitlin Halligan), to selecting judges because they are homosexuals (J. Paul Oetken), we have seen it all.

Kyle Olsen writes at Townhall: But now, with Walker’s legislation set to become law once it clears legal hurdles, the unions are suddenly coming to their senses. They are jumping at the chance to extend their collective bargaining agreements, in exchange for meaningful concessions that will help schools survive the financial crisis.

AP: “France’s chief religions are protesting plans by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative party to hold a debate next week on Islam’s role in the country, joining a growing chorus of voices who fear it could stigmatize Muslims and worsen social tensions.”

Radio Netherlands Worldwide: Dutch Gay and lesbian soldiers, sailors, air force crew and other defence personnel who want to take part in this year’s Amsterdam Gay Pride event have been given permission to wear their uniforms on the parade through the city’s canals.

AP: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed legislation to ban abortions for people who want them over ethnicity or gender.

U.S. Dept. of State: The United States led a group of 85 countries to sign a statement entitled “Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” It represents a landmark moment in UN efforts to highlight human rights abuses faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people around the world.”

Cardinal Newman Society Campus Notes: An article from The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Catholic Manhattan College has appealed the January decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which allows adjunct faculty to vote on forming a union. The NLRB ruled that the College could not prevent the faculty from forming a union on the basis that it is a religious institution.

Paul Kengor writes at the NC Register (3/04): Even then, I often get asked why something I’ve found in communist archives from, say, the 1920s, pertains to America right now in the 21st century. Well, indeed, past is often prologue, as what happened a century ago is hardly irrelevant to today’s political stage. That certainly seems the case with what I’ve found on the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), from its challenging of Christmas carols in public schools seven decades ago to its recent actions trying to compel Catholic hospitals to do abortions and denouncing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for opposing birth control and contraception in “health care” reform legislation. Few organizations have been as consistently radical in advancing abortion as the ACLU, to such a degree that Alan Sears and Craig Osten, authors of The ACLU vs. America, refer to “the ACLU’s crusade against the unborn child.”

AP: “Human rights groups say more than 100 bloggers, lawyers and activists have been detained.”

Christian Concern for Our Nation, represented by Peter Norris, carries video of the discussion.

Sen. Marco Rubio writes at the Wall Street Journal: Whether they admit it or not, everyone in Washington knows how to solve these problems. What is missing is the political will to do it. I ran for the U.S. Senate because I want my children to inherit what I inherited: the greatest nation in human history. It’s not too late. The 21st century can also be the American Century. Our people are ready. Now it’s time for their leaders to join them.

HSLDA: After years of turning down appeals from homeschoolers in Sweden, the Kammarrätten, an administrative appeals court just below the Swedish Supreme Court, has agreed to review the homeschooling cases of the Himmelstrand and Angerstig families. This is the first time in recent years that a higher court in Sweden has decided to review a lower court’s decision denying homeschooling.

HSLDA: Homeschooling in Italy is growing, and a website called Controscuola.it is helping. Run by homeschool mom Erika Di Martino, the tagline on the Controscuola website reads, “Education is compulsory … not school attendance!”

The Hill: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Tuesday ruled out another short-term measure to fund the government, raising pressure on both parties to reach a deal to avert a government shutdown after April 8.

Pacific Justice: “A former student at Gateway East High School of the Grossmont Union High School District has filed suit against GUHSD, saying he was disciplined and suspended for sharing his faith with fellow students and for bringing his Bible to school. The student is represented by Pacific Justice Institute.”

LifeNews: “For so long PP has touted that they are a provider of mammogram services,” she said. “This is just one of the lies that Planned Parenthood uses to draw people into their clinics. PP is not able to provide quality services on their own, so they are forced to lie to the public about services they don’t provide–and mammograms are just one of those services.”