Daily Archives: April 28, 2011

egardless of Daniels’s ill-advised comments, this should be an easy decision for him. Defunding Planned Parenthood helps the Governor address the “economic crisis” that motivated his “truce” in the first place. Nothing is more fiscally responsible than slashing $2 million from the budget for an organization that hasn’t proven it can follow the law.

Christian Science Monitor: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke waded into politics Wednesday – but stayed in the shallow end. He avoided a partisan position, but made it clear that Congress needs to correct America’s fiscal course.

Cutting off the $2 million could come at a high cost to the state. About $1.3 million of that is Medicaid family-planning money, which comes with a federal requirement that the state not pick and choose among providers. Federal officials declined to say what sanctions Indiana might face for doing so, but the Family and Social Services Administration has expressed concerns it would lose all $4 million of its Medicaid family-planning money. An attorney for the anti-abortion Alliance Defense Fund says past cases show that Indiana would not face penalties.

Stamford Advocate: Trustees for North Idaho College have unanimously approved a policy that limits the time, place and manner in which picketing and other free speech activities may occur on campus.

Canada.com: Today’s judges are making decisions that should be in the domain of our elected representatives. Do we want a judge in British Columbia rewriting our 121-year-old law banning polygamy? Should an Ontario judge be responsible for the decriminalization of cannabis? An elected bench would be democratically accountable to the public.

Providence Journal: State Rep. Peter Petrarca said on the floor of the state House of Representatives on Wednesday that he will introduce legislation as early as Thursday granting gay couples the right to “civil unions.”

Blog of the Legal Times: The news, however, was tempered by relatively flat revenue growth and the jump in profits appears to have had more to do with cutting lawyers and staff than a significant bump in business.

Boston Globe: The contrast could not have been clearer . . . Where Trump was greeted by a horde of reporters, only a handful came to hear Paul speak before the Merrimack County Republican Committee at a Holiday Inn here. And where Trump is heavy on the style and oftentimes light on the substance, Paul delivered a policy-rich speech in a dry tone . . .

Politico: It’s a familiar dance for Boehner and social conservatives — he says all the right things, but he doesn’t spend much political capital for the cause.

ADNKronos: The EU Court of Justice ruled that jailing migrants contradicts an EU directive whose main objective is “to set up an effective policy to drive out and repatriate third country nationals whose stay (in the EU) is irregular, while respecting their fundamental rights,” the court said in a statement.

Christian Newswire: Easter weekend was one of the bloodiest since the riots and anti-government demonstrations started in mid-March, leading some churches to cancel Easter services. The Associated Press reported 120 deaths last weekend across Syria and a total of 450 deaths since the unrest began.

LifeSiteNews: The decision by most women to delay childbirth for work and careers is the main cause of Europe’s birth rate crisis, a report from an international economic organization has said . . . In its report the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), an international economic organization of 34 countries, highlights the coming demographic crisis in many European countries.

NY Times: The chief United States representative to human rights discussions with China offered a cheerless portrait of those talks after their conclusion on Thursday, saying the United States was worried by “a serious backsliding” of freedoms in China and at loggerheads with Beijing officials over many aspects of the issue.

NY Times: Free speech advocates and Internet users are protesting new Indian regulations restricting Web content that, among other things, can be considered “disparaging,” “harassing,” “blasphemous” or “hateful.”

The Daily Caller: Belgium has taken a major step toward banning burqa-type Islamic dress in public when its lower house of parliament overwhelmingly backed the measure.

Toronto Star: Small crowds of voters nervously cast ballots Thursday in two states in oil-rich Nigeria hit hard by religious rioting that killed at least 500 people following the nation’s presidential election.

NY Daily News: But this time, advocates say they now have 26 of the 32 votes needed to pass it – and backing from Gov. Cuomo, with the bill expected to come to a vote in late May or June.

UGPulse.com: The marriage and divorce bill coalition has called for the outlawing of polygamy. The group of representatives from over 40 women and civil society organisations made the call while appearing before the legal and Parliamentary affairs committee.

LocalNews8.com: A federal appeals court is blocking a federal judge in Utah from handing control of a communal land trust back to leaders of Warren Jeffs’ polygamous church.

St. Petersburg Times: The Senate passed two of the House’s antiabortion measures Thursday. Both were amended to allow exceptions in cases where the mother’s health is at risk. | HB 97 | HJR 117

LifeSiteNews: Canadians need to “recover a sense of outrage” over the immense tragedy of abortion in their country, says the Catholic Organization for Life & Family (COLF), a joint initiative of the Canadian bishops and the Knights of Columbus.

LifeSiteNews: Over 700 lawsuits against Merck Pharmaceuticals are moving forward in U.S. court, even as the company is fending off accusations of ethical violations for its attempts to market the NuvaRing birth control device overseas, without making mention of its risks.

LifeSiteNews: The surfing champ was faced with a difficult decision earlier this year when it was announced that the prestigious 2011 World Tour would be held in Hainan, China. “I felt like I had two choices: I could go with my reservations and wear a ‘Free Tibet’ shirt, or something trite like that. Or, I could stand up for what I believe in and hopefully call more attention to these issues through a boycott,” she told the Del Mar Times.

LifeSiteNews: The Kansas Senate has passed a bill that will force abortion clinics to get in line with current hospital standards for outpatient surgical centers or face being shut down by the health department.

LifeNews: A move to strip funding for rape and incest abortions from the state employees’ health insurance plan failed by one vote Wednesday in the Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate.

The Independent: A fledgling biosciences industry that promises to revolutionise medicine in the 21st century could be destroyed by a French judge who has declared it immoral to patent inventions based on cells derived from human embryos.

Newsmax: One in 7 counties in Illinois has more voters on the electoral rolls than the number of adult residents the U.S. Census tallied, a new study has found.

AP: Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill Thursday allowing local communities to vote on whether to approve Sunday sales. Only Connecticut and Indiana still have statewide bans like the one Georgia is scrapping.

Fox News: An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to force his pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint to get an abortion.

SCOTUS Blog has posted the most recent edition of petitions to watch. The list includes a couple of cases that could be important to members of the judiciary. | Siefert v. Alexander | Bauer v. Shepard

Religion Clause Blog: The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice with the Federal Register yesterday (full text) effectively ending the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). According to a press release from CAIR, NSEERS has been perceived as a program that profiles individuals on the basis of religion and ethnicity.

Religion Clause Blog: In Norway, the Labour Party is proposing a change in the health care law so that ritual circumcisions of boys– practiced by Jews and Muslims– will be covered without charge as part of the public health system.

Daily Mail: Significantly more American women are using the emergency contraceptive ‘morning-after’ pill now it is available over-the-counter, a study says. More than twice as many women aged 15 to 44 used the pill between 2006 and 2008 in the U.S., compared with 2002 when it was still prescription-only, researchers found.

Telegraph: In Britain today, marriage is one of those benefits that is kept a secret for fear of offending or sounding self-righteous. That’s a pity, because it is a good product. Some 85 per cent of married people and 59 per cent of unmarried people believe that getting married is the most serious decision one can take. Even larger percentages agree that “despite the challenges, marriage is important for society”.

Scotsman: The attack, at St Andrews Church on Main Street, Livingston, is believed to be the sixth or seventh similar incident in the past year. It is thought a group of youths threw small rocks and stones at the church between Friday night and Saturday morning, breaking 11 windows.

Daily Mail: An ordinary bloke who became so angry and frustrated at Britain’s obsession with multiculturalism, diversity and political correctness that he felt he had no option but to stand up for his rights and beliefs. ‘I didn’t want any of this fuss. Who would?’ he says, brandishing a flowery tea cup. ‘The past few months have been unbelievable — a nightmare. The worry’s made Geraldine poorly. I’ve not slept more than three hours a night and I collapsed with stress at my doctor’s. ‘And there have been plenty of tears — though never in front of Geraldine,’ he adds, hastily. ‘But sometimes you’ve no choice. You have to take a stand.’

Rasmussen Reports: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Adults shows that just 28% say it would be a good idea for United States to ban hate speech like some European nations and Canada do. A majority (54%) opposes a ban on hate speech.

Andrea Minichiello Williams at Christian Concern for Our Nation: I never imagined that my skills as a lawyer would be used to defend Christians for following their faith in 21st Century Britain. In the UK, Christians are beginning to experience discrimination that leads to them being marginalised and losing their jobs. Over the past three years more than 100 have suffered after wearing a cross, sharing their faith, even offering a prayer.

AP: An American human rights envoy said Thursday that China provided no useful information when probed about specific cases of individuals who have been detained or who disappeared in a major crackdown on dissent in recent months.

AP: If a Marine spots two men in his battalion kissing off-duty at a shopping mall, he should react as if he were seeing a man and woman. If he turns on the television news to see a fellow Marine dressed as a civilian and marching in a parade with a banner that reads, “Support Gays and Lesbians in the Military!” he should accept it as a free right of expression.

Wall Street Journal: Losses were especially bad Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated the central bank is far from tightening monetary policy as economic growth remains slow and unemployment remains high.

CNNMoney: Wal-Mart’s core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday.

APB: The following year the same school district was sued by the Alliance Defense Fund after students at Lakeview Elementary were ordered to remove religious language like “In God We Trust” from posters promoting a “See You at the Pole” prayer rally. The school board lost that case, also, when a judge sided with students and ordered school officials to stop suppressing religious speech that is “reasonable” and “in accordance with federal law.”

Philly Burbs: If you want further proof, go to www.adf.org, which is the Alliance Defense Fund. They report on how government is trying to criminalize Christianity, and how Christians such as me are taking a stand against it. It’s very clear to this writer failed to show where a previous letter writer made false or inaccurate statements concerning liberal Democrats. His intent seems to be to make true Christians such as me look like uncaring bigots, which is far from the truth. We firmly believe in loving the sinner, yet hating the sin. We also believe in one nation UNDER GOD, which is what our Founding Fathers believed as well, not government controlled religion!
Wendy Saddler
Bensalem

The Ninth Circuit Court declined on Wednesday to rule on public access to the videotape recording of the federal trial on the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, deciding that the issue should go first to a federal District judge in San Francisco.

ADF attorney Kevin Theriot appeared on Family Talk with James and Shirley Dobson to discuss the National Day of Prayer victory at the 7th Circuit. The show also features John Bornschein, Executive Director, of the National Day of Prayer. | MP3 audio 25:55 mins

ADF attorney Joel Oster appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this: ADF battle against religious discrimination policies at public facilities marches past halfway point. | MP3 audio 19:15 mins

ADF attorney Doug Napier appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show with J.D. Hawyorth to discuss the National Day of Prayer. | MP3 audio 24:48 mins | Decision Points: An Evening with George W. Bush | Thousands of children’s educations saved at U.S. Supreme Court | Victory for academic freedom: 4th Circuit says professor’s speeches, columns protected by First Amendment

Cal. Catholic Daily: California voters have rejected three parental notification initiatives after Planned Parenthood poured millions of dollars into campaigns to defeat them. Voters narrowly rejected Proposition 73 in 2005, Proposition 85 in 2006 and Proposition 4 in 2008. The following press release from the Alliance Defense Fund about an Ohio case helps explain why Planned Parenthood spends millions to keep such laws off the books – and why California needs such a law to protect minors.) | Life Legal Defense Foundation Press Release