Daily Archives: September 1, 2011

But a new crop of research is challenging the idea that the main or only problem with the decline of marriage is the absence of fathers. An equally big or even bigger problem may be the churning romantic lives of unmarried and divorced mothers.

Al.com: Hoover High School today reversed its decision to stop a student from wearing a T-Shirt expressing acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle.

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Amen! Principal, teachers at Miss. school told prayers are protected. | MP3 audio 15:33 mins

ADF Attorney David Cortman on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 7:10 mins

ADF Attorney Roger Kiska on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss pending religious discrimination litigation in the Europe. | MP3 audio 12:06 mins

Speak Up Movement Church Blog: However, the court’s view of the Constitution places new limits on how a private citizen can pray finding that public invocations cannot have “sectarian references” that are too “frequent.” . . . In a series of short blogs I will explore some of the troubling aspects of the decision in Joyner v. Forsyth County, NC decided on July 29, 2011.

KITV Honolulu: Hawaii has the 17th highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, according to the federal government. That’s one reason why Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and other groups want to turn sex education in public schools from elective to mandatory.

The Christian Institute: ffairs are no longer the top reason for couples divorcing, with “falling out of love” replacing it, according to a survey of lawyers.

The Daily Tar Heel: You are perhaps the most liberally-biased newspaper in existence. Trying to argue that homosexuality is a debatable topic among Christians is ridiculous.

Washington Times : In Losing Faith in Faith, Dan Barker – the preacher-turned-atheist – wrote this about the origin of sin: “The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage?”

God Discussion: Christian writer Coleman says that so much is at stake in the debate about homosexuality that many Christians are unable to distinguish the sin form the sinner. While Christians are urged to “Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner,” the writer admits that Gay rights is a hot issue in politics which continues to dominate every election cycle because “growing acceptance of same-sex marriage and homosexuality is a direct threat to traditional Christian norms of sex and marriage.”

The Independent: Prostitutes in the German city of Bonn must carry a ticket purchased from a new parking meter-like machine while working the streets or face hefty fines from tax authorities in a scheme launched on last Monday.

LaTimes.com: The strongly worded statement issued Wednesday by the Canoga Park-based Free Speech Coalition came in response to complaints filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation with federal and Florida state health officials after the disclosure that an adult film performer tested HIV-positive.

David French at National Review Online: The battle for religious liberty is not a battle for legal supremacy but instead for legal equality, for the chance — the opportunity — for citizens to make their voices heard and make a way for themselves and their descendants. Simply put, religious liberty grants the freedom to persuade, not coerce. If the Left is secure in the power of its ideas, why should it fear our words?

Carwash.com: Carwash owner Tim Murphy released a message on the Facebook page saying that the You Can Run But You Cannot Hide organization would no longer be allowed to use the carwash facility. | The LezGet Real, a lesbian’s blog, offers more information: Bradlee Dean Connected Fundraiser Lands Car Wash In Hot Water

OneNewsNow.com: You know, they made this decision, and … based on the timing of certain court filings [it looks like] it was made in concert with the homosexual activists and those who are seeking to redefine marriage,” explains Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “… We just want to figure out what’s going on.”

ADF attorney available to media after hearing, challenging state officials’ claim that outreach facilities ‘not integral’ part of ministry

“Again, so what? I don’t care if there are three fathers and six mothers. If it’s a stable relationship and the kids are connected with their parents, that’s great.” That’s a fantasy, not a proposal to take children’s needs for their mom and dad seriously.

Chris Selley at National Post: A recent article in The New York Times Magazine posed a disconcerting question: “What is it about terminating half a twin pregnancy that seems more controversial than reducing triplets to twins or aborting a single fetus? After all, the math is the same either way: one fewer fetus.” For precisely that reason, I had never even considered the idea. To me, it doesn’t “seem” more controversial at all.

Houston Chronicle: An Ohio group is gathering signatures in an effort to add an abortion ban to the state’s constitution. Personhood Ohio wants to put the issue before voters in 2012.

NPR (includes audio): Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, the Justice Department’s civil rights division has filed eight civil cases since the start of the Obama administration. That’s a big increase over the George W. Bush years, when one case was filed in eight years.

South Memphis News: The Tennessee Department of Health has awarded Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region (PPGMR) a grant to fund a major syphilis elimination project in Shelby County, Tennessee.

Washington Times: Alabama on Thursday officially became the fifth state in the nation to restrict abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the latest in a wave of new state efforts to curb the practice this year.

Reuters: Nearly all obstetrician-gynecologists in the U.S. have patients who want abortions, but only a small percentage of the doctors provide them, suggests a new study that finds access to abortion remains limited, especially in certain areas of the country.

ABA Journal: Midlevel law firm associates billed an average of 2,037 hours last year, a finding that likely explains a drop in their satisfaction levels.

WSJ: A draft of the revised law, posted (in Chinese) Tuesday on the website of the National People’s Congress, confirms what many rights advocates had previously feared: That China plans to legalize the secret and illegal detentions that have previously been carried out in violation of existing law.

The Associated Press: Tenia Phillips has heard the horror stories about life after law school, circa 2011, from crushing student loan debt to recent graduates serving coffee at Starbucks.

The Guardian: A coalition of women’s groups has written to the equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, urging her to intervene in the row over backbenchers’ attempts to reform abortion protocols. They say the proposals could delay abortions and allow anti-abortion groups to counsel women.

LifeSiteNews.com: As trustees at the Toronto Catholic District School Board prepare to pass judgment Wednesday evening on crucial amendments to their controversial equity policy, a pro-family leader is warning of an effort by leadership at the board to “sabotage” the vote after promising it to parents for months.

LifeSiteNews.com: The general counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to rescind its mandate forcing private insurance plans to cover contraception—including abortifacients—and sterilization, calling the mandate “unprecedented in federal law and more radical than any state contraceptive mandate.”

McClatchy: Rick Perry, like other conservatives, has lots of complaints about the Supreme Court: The justices, he says, have meddled in social policy, stepped on state power and generally run amok . . .

LifeNews.com: After a new pro-life law going into effect caused Planned Parenthood to close or scale back at several locations throughout Arizona, the abortion business is announcing it is expanding its hours in Tucson to make up for it.

LifeNews.com: A leading pro-life organization that is behind the innovative 20-week abortion ban based on the scientific evidence showing that unborn children feel pain during an abortion is welcoming the first lawsuit against it.

LifeNews.com: Australia may soon have the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug available nationwide after having it only in a very limited supply for the last few years. That’s despite the fact that the abortion drug has killed dozens of women and injured thousands more.

The Charlotte Observer: North Carolina Chamber of Commerce leaders aren’t saying much about if or how a possible legislative push to ban same-sex marriage would affect the state’s business climate.

Fox News carries the report and short video.

NOLA.com: The poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 44 percent – nearly half – of young evangelicals between the ages of 18 to 29 favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry.

Rutgers: A clear majority of New Jersey voters now supports legalizing gay marriage here, with 52 percent in favor, 32 percent opposed and 16 percent unsure, a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll finds. The margin in support has grown significantly over the past two years. However, given the choice of civil unions instead of gay marriage, even more voters (58 percent) support this alternative.

Findlaw: The military’s ban on openly gay troops will be lifted within weeks, but that’s no guarantee the law cannot be re-enacted someday.

The Daily Tar Heel: The Carrboro Board of Aldermen passed a resolution this week against the N.C. Defense of Marriage Act, a measure proposed in the N.C. General Assembly.

NonPareil News: As the leader of the Senate, Gronstal has the sole power to choose what measures are debated. Unless his fellow Democrats opt to remove him from his post or he changes his mind, his decision will push off a statewide gay marriage vote for at least several years. Democrats hold a narrow 26-24 seat majority in the Senate.

Yahoo! Finance: Gasoline is near the highest it’s ever been for this time of year, just ahead of the Labor Day weekend. The run-up in oil prices this year, combined with a rash of refining problems throughout the U.S., has boosted pump prices. The national average on Thursday is $3.629 per gallon.

Rhodes, Charles W. (Rocky), Navigating the Path of the Supreme Appointment (July 20, 2011). Florida State University Law Review, Vol. 38, No. 3, 2011. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1890734 Nominees to the Supreme Court historically boasted political backgrounds as congressmen, governors, …

Butculescu, Claudiu Ramon, Consideration Regarding Natural Law in Common-Law Systems (April 26, 2010). DINAMICA DREPTULUI ROMÂNESC DUPĂ ADERAREA LA UNIUNEA EUROPEANĂ. COMUNICĂRI PREZENTATE LA SESIUNEA ŞTIINŢIFICĂ A INSTITUTULUI DE CERCETĂRI JURIDICE, 2010 . Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1907350 The traits of …

Sossin, Lorne, The Sounds of Silence: Law Clerks, Policy-Making and the Supreme Court of Canada (1996). U.B.C. Law Review, Vol. 30, pp. 279-308, 1996. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1911416 It is no longer controversial to refer to the Supreme Court of …

. . . Although Liu said he believed that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, he also said publicly that Proposition 8 was a valid amendment to the state Constitution, a position the California Supreme Court majority later took in a 6-1 ruling. Moreno was the only justice willing to strike down the 2008 ballot measure . . .

Kyle Olson at Townhall: But a secret union document reveals that the NEA’s commitment to “improv(ing) teaching and learning” works out to a paltry $7.44 per member every year.

Michael Barone at Townhall : The bulk of the article is worthy of attention because Toobin, despite his obvious distaste for Justice Thomas’ views, takes him seriously as a judicial thinker and pathfinder.

Education News: As school choice ever-so-slowly reaches more communities, critics argue it hurts public schools. At first, one might find this complaint a bit odd. If McDonald’s makes a better burger, causing more people to eat their food, what grounds does Burger King have to complain, “Food choice hurts Burger King”? Most people would say, “Well, then, get your customers back by improving your product!”

Patrick A. Trueman at Public Discourse: Ending child pornography is as much a matter of vigorously prosecuting those who distribute adult pornography as it is a matter of prosecuting child pornographers. Presidential candidates should pledge to initiate adult pornography criminal cases and fund research into the adult-child pornography link.

Ann Coulter at Townhall: Intelligent design scientists look at the evidence and develop their theories; Darwinists start with a theory and then rearrange the evidence. These aren’t scientists. They are religious fanatics for whom evolution must be true so that they can explain to themselves why they are here, without God. (It’s an accident!) Any evidence contradicting the primitive religion of Darwinism — including, for example, the entire fossil record — they explain away with non-scientific excuses like “the dog ate our fossils.”

St. Louis Today: A sparse crowd turned out Wednesday to watch candidates for an open seat on the Missouri Supreme Court face questions from the judicial nominating commission, the first time the interview process has been conducted in public

NYPOST.com: The nightmare appears in last week’s issue, in Jeffrey Toobin’s lengthy article on Supreme Court jurisprudence, titled “Partners” and subtitled “Will Clarence and Virginia Thomas succeed in killing Obama’s health-care plan?” It’s possible to read the article as a partisan hit, but the bulk of it is worthy of attention because Toobin, despite his obvious distaste for Justice Thomas’ views, takes him seriously as a judicial thinker and pathfinder.

Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee: After an atheist group asked DeSoto County Schools to stop praying before school events or face legal action, the same group is now demanding the district to stop allowing Gideon International, a Christian missionary group, to distribute bibles during school sponsored activities.

Religion Clause: In the town of Bethel, New York, a Satmar Hasidic group that was involved in a battle with the town in 2009 over construction of a synagogue is again at odds with town officials.

Pacific Justice Institute: The ACLU spearheaded a campaign so the College would censure Dr. Lopez for comments they characterized as anti-homosexual and promoting a Christian belief system.

LifeNews.com: A new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry by leading American researcher Dr. Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University finds women who have an abortion face almost double the risk of mental health problems as women who have their baby. Coleman’s study . . .

David French at National Review Online: ! I’m a former Senior Counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, and not only that, I actually led its largest litigation group. As for Regent, I currently work for Regent professor and ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow (I’m a senior counsel at the ACLJ). I’m even speaking at Regent next month. So, here I am. A legal dominionist. You got me. Time for me to come clean.

CBN.com: David Cortman, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund, told The Christian Post, “School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials.” The ADF has mailed letters to at least eight school districts, urging the schools to reject ACLU’s demands. “We want to make sure that schools don’t unnecessarily cave to the ACLU’s demands,” Mr. Cortman said.

Palm Beach Post: Don’t think of it as the federal government but as your “federal family.” In a Category 4 torrent of official communications during the approach and aftermath of Hurricane Irene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has repeatedly used the phrase “federal family” when describing the Obama administration’s response to the storm.

Langvardt, Kyle, Electoral Reform in Clarence Thomas’s America (February 1, 2011). Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review, December 2011. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1827022 The Supreme Court held in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that nearly all impediments …