Daily Archives: August 11, 2011

Boston.com: The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled the Sex Offender Registry Board can’t require an individual to register as a “Level 2″ sex offender based solely on a conviction of possessing child pornography.

Michael Foust at Baptist Press: A new poll suggests that self-described pro-choice Americans support a range of abortion restrictions such as banning second- and third-trimester abortions — data that puts them at odds with the nation’s leading abortion rights groups and that could give support to a handful of new state laws.

he Arizona Court of Appeals Thursday found Arizona’s Abortion Consent Act constitutional and lifted a judge’s order that had stalled its implementation after Planned Parenthood filed suit.

LifeNews.com: What has been brought to my attention more and more recently though is the growing number of pro-life student groups that are close to extinction because of the inability to find an academic advisor.

AP: The European Union’s markets supervisor says four countries – France, Italy, Spain and Belgium – are banning short-selling amid market turmoil that has sent bank shares gyrating wildly.

And countless studies have shown that, the more polygamous a society, the more aggressive its males. Polygamous hunter-gather societies are absurdly violent. Why?

The Christian Institute: A five-year-old boy who was born as one of Britain’s most premature twins is “living proof” that the abortion limit needs to be lowered, the child’s mother says.

WBEZ (includes audio): This week, to gain insights into this country’s incredibly polarizing debate over abortion, we’re looking at how reproductive issues play out around the world. It’s part of our occasional series Here, There, where we compare U.S. policy on tough issues to those of other countries.

LifeSiteNews.com: The Church should seek the conversion of pro-abortion politicians, but if they remain obstinate they should be expelled from the Church, says Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo.

LifeNews.com: “The Court acknowledged the Legislature’s right to pass legislation to protect the health and safety of women considering abortion,” said Deborah Sheasby, Center for Arizona Policy’s Legal Counsel. “This is a major victory for Arizona women.”
“If Planned Parenthood truly cared about what’s best for women, they wouldn’t be repeatedly going to court around the nation to stop laws that allow women to make fully informed choices,” said ADF Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden, who argued before the Court of Appeals on June 14. “The court ruled rightly in this case in rejecting the arguments of the nation’s largest purveyor of abortion. The protection of women is not unconstitutional.”

Chicagotribune.com: Amid accusations that Willow Creek Community Church promotes an “anti-gay agenda,” the Rev. Bill Hybels today tried to clear the air by clarifying the church’s views on homosexuality.

Catholic Culture: An Australian Catholic bishop has decried the decision of national census officials to count some homosexual couples as “married,” despite the fact that same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Australia.

WSJ.com: Two lawsuits seeking class action status were filed in Michigan and New York on Wednesday against Thomas M. Cooley Law School and New York Law School.

LifeSiteNews.com: Amidst the heavy backlash from parents over Ontario’s controversial equity and inclusive education strategy, a grade 9 religion class at a Kitchener Catholic high school was given a test this year on homosexuality requiring them to define terms such as “coming out” and “bi-sexual,” and answer true or false to complex statements such as “Homosexuality is a disease” or “The Church is against homosexual people.”

William J Federer’s American Minute for August 11th: Regarding this, President Reagan commented August 23, 1984 at Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas: “We even had to pass a special law in the Congress just a few weeks ago to allow student prayer groups the same access to school rooms after classes that a Young Marxist Society…would already enjoy.”

LifeSiteNews.com: 36-year-old pro-life witness Mary Wagner was arrested again by Toronto police this morning as she spoke to women waiting to obtain abortions inside the vestibule of a Toronto abortion centre.

LifeSiteNews.com: The survey, conducted by the Brazilian polling agency Ibope, revealed that 55 percent of respondents opposed the Tribunal’s decision, and 45% favored it.

LifeSiteNews.com: While use of the birth control pill raises the risk of deadly blood clots by 500 percent, the risk shoots to over 1,700 percent for U.S. women with a common vein malformation, California researchers have found.

LifeSiteNews.com:A potential showdown looms between Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Catholic leaders over a proposed merger of a local Catholic health system with a public hospital. Beshear says the new entity, which would be controlled by Catholic stakeholders, must have a “public mission” and so offer procedures such as sterilization and abortion.

LifeNews.com: The state of Illinois now requires abortion centers to join legitimate medical facilities in reporting cases of statutory rape to authorities in order for young girls to be protected. That’s something Planned Parenthood opposed.

Poll Shows Americans Don’t Know Roe’s Pro-Abortion Effects | LifeNews.com: In late July, the Gallup Polling Company released the results of a national poll gauging the public’s position on various kinds of prolife legislation.

Religion Clause: The Florida Independent reports that a group known as Citizens for National Security announced that they were filing suit yesterday in Florida state court to enjoin the effectiveness of Florida S.B. 2120 which, among other things (Sec. 21), calls for two state or national experts to review instructional materials that are up for adoption each year.

Jim Daly of Focus on the Family at The Washington Post: Prayer provides perspective, connection, introspection, a calming effect, guidance from the Lord, wisdom … and the list goes on. Not everyone, of course, shares that firsthand experience with or belief in the power of prayer – Mr. Bruni certainly seems to question it. So let’s take a few more sentences to put “The Response” into historical context. The difficulties facing our nation today, noted in the question above, are certainly challenging. But would any of us say they are more challenging than what our Founding Fathers faced when they forged this nation?

Religion Clause: Voice of America reported yesterday that Egypt’s government has proposed an amendment to its criminal code that would outlaw discrimination against people or a sect “due to gender, origin, language, religion or belief.”

CNN.com Blogs: The Air Force’s use of Christian religious messages goes beyond those used in briefings for missile launch officers, as reported by CNN last week, and extends to training for ROTC cadets.

RealClearPolitics: Things that are just so anathema to the principles of freedom, and everything he has come up with centralizes more power in Washington, creates more socialist-style, collectivist policies. This president is doing something that’s so far out of the realm of anything Republicans ever did wrong, it’s hard to even imagine,” Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) “Janet Mefferd Show.”

LifeNews.com: A researcher from the Heritage Foundation says a new Obama administration decision regarding the massive Obamacare law makes it so Americans were sold a bill of goods when they were told it would not fund abortions.

Newsmax: Another wave election may be building across America, poised to sweep away yet another congressional class. Only 24 percent say members of Congress deserve re-election, A USA Today/ Gallup Poll finds.

AP: Ten years later, “God Bless America” has become woven into the fabric of the baseball experience. It’s played on Sundays, holidays, special occasions and even every game in the case of two teams, the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rasmussen Reports™: Support for bringing home U.S. troops from Afghanistan is on the rise as few Americans think we have a clearly defined mission anymore in that troubled country

Belgian Burqa Ban Takes Effect — Who’s Next? :: Islamist Watch: Opponents of the burqa and niqab had reason to celebrate on July 23 as Belgium became the second Western country to enforce a nationwide prohibition on face-covering attire in public.

AP: Students who have signed up for Indiana’s broad new school voucher program could be jerked out of private schools midsemester unless it’s allowed to continue operating pending the outcome of a lawsuit, state officials argued Thursday.

The Federalist Society: The Obama Administration recently mounted a high-profile campaign against bullying in public schools, staging a White House conference on bullying prevention, featuring the President and first lady; creating a White House anti-bullying website, stopbullying.gov; and issuing new regulatory guidance ostensibly to combat this problem.

ADF allied attorney Mike Johnson appeared on WPTF with Rick and Donna Martinez. | MP3 audio 9:50 mins

Daily Press: The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the City Council to ax prayers before council meetings.

OneNewsNow.com: Commissioners voted this week to permit the Alliance Defense Fund to pursue an appeal on their behalf.

OneNewsNow.com: Brett Harvey of the Alliance Defense Fund says the court decided that the Indian River School Board was not the type of legislative body that was covered by a Supreme Court precedent.
“They decided to look at the school board because it was involved within the public school system; they ignored the way the board operated and analyzed it as if this was any sort of other typical school prayer case,” says Harvey. [more . . . ]