Daily Archives: December 8, 2011

Washington Times: The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee said Thursday that the Obama administration is fueling speculation about Supreme CourtJustice Elena Kagan’s impartiality because it won’t turn over documents detailing her role in crafting the legal strategy to defend the health care law while she was serving in the administration.

LifeNews.com: “A woman’s right to make a fully informed choice is more important than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line,” said ADF attorney Steve Aden. “If Planned Parenthood truly cared about the well-being of women, it would not try to prevent them from being informed of the well-documented risk of suicide that accompanies abortion.” “A child’s life is worth more than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line,” Aden said.” [more]

The Press Association: Supporters of same-sex marriage have been met by a noisy counter-demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament.

The Aquila Report: Overture 009 from East Iowa Presbytery requests an amendment to W-4.9000 in the Book of Order be approved that would uphold session and pastoral discretion in their responsibility for the covenant of marriage. The proposed amendment deletes every reference of “man and woman” and replaces it with “two people.”

TheStar.com: British scientists have made the first human embryonic stem cells of a high enough grade to use in patients and deposited them in a public stem-cell bank for development in human trials by drug companies and researchers by 2014.

BBC News: Malawi will review a series of controversial laws, including a ban on homosexual acts, Justice Minister Ephraim Chiume has said.

The Associated Press: : A volunteer firefighter in Tennessee says his department is getting ugly threats after a different department in the area allowed a home to burn down because the owner had not paid a fire protection fee.

LifeSiteNews.com: The Argentinean province of Corrientes has declared itself to be officially “pro-life,” in a statement signed by Governor Ricardo Colombi.

LifeSiteNews.com: Brazilian legislators appear to be moving closer to approving an “anti-homophobia” law, with the newspaper O Globo reporting that the National Congress of Catholic Bishops (CNBB) has made an “agreement” with Brazilian senators regarding the bill’s language.

LifeNews: Pro-abortion activists call abortion a woman’s choice, but all too often, it is the woman’s partner who pressures her into having an abortion.

Lowe was charged with one count of sexual battery for engaging in sexual conduct by means of sexual intercourse with his 22-year-old stepdaughter, in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.03(A)(5) . . .

JournalStar.com: federal appeals court on Wednesday agreed to review its decision in a Missouri case that could decide the constitutionality of Nebraska’s funeral picketing law.

Religion Clause: The Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD) is a group of over 50 religious, civil rights and public policy organizations that has been encouraging the Obama administration to require all recipients of federal grants and contracts to observe a strict non-discrimination policy in hiring for positions funded with federal dollars.

Religion Clause: The St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press reports that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher yesterday issued show-cause orders to attorney Rebekah Nett and her client Naomi Isaacson threatening to impose sanctions on them for bigoted anti-Catholic statements contained in a legal memorandum they filed with the court last month.

U.S. Supreme Court: On Tuesday, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee heard testimony on Senate Bill 410, the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2011, which would allow cameras in the Supreme Court, an idea that many past and present justices vehemently oppose (to put it mildly).

Religion Clause: As previously reported, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is now scheduled to go out of business on Dec. 16. Under Sec. 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act, the Commission was originally scheduled to terminate on Sept. 30.

RedState: Instead of being a kindly deed for rape victims, overturning the military abortion ban would be an affront to the 2180 American service women pregnant at any given time, putting them at a higher risk of aborting their children through undue pressure, the misperception of professional medical guidance, and unlawful orders from bullies like Fred Wilhelm (3,4).

Reuters: Unions representing 1,000 Washington liquor store workers sued to stop the voter-approved closure of state-run liquor shops set to begin on Thursday.

WorldNetDaily: Atheists and their compatriots are putting a bull’s-eye on another cross memorial, this time attacking the idea of replacing a fixture at the U.S. Marine base in Camp Pendleton, Calif., that was erected to honor soldiers killed in Iraq.

Fox News: A nativity scene in Athens, Texas is the talk of the town because a national group is trying to get it removed, claiming it is offensive.

Michael Paulsen at Public Discourse: Freedom of religion means the right of religious persons, groups, and ideas to participate fully and equally in the life of the community and in the marketplace of ideas.

The Tennessean | tennessean.com: The Sumner County Board of Education settled a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union over teacher-led prayer and other religious activity in public schools.

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears at the TellADF Blog: In a decision that, frankly, surprises me, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the 17-year-old case of the Bronx Household of Faith vs. Board of Education of the City of New York.

ADF Attorney Erik Stanley at the SpeakUp Movement Church Blog: As of the time I write this blog, the IRS has not responded in any way to any of the pastors who participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday. In fact, pastors have been participating in Pulpit Freedom Sunday since 2008 but no pastor has ever been punished or censored by the IRS for a Pulpit Freedom Sunday sermon.

Sydney Morning Herald: Coalition MPs may have to cross the floor to exercise a conscience vote, with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott indicating the coalition will hold the party line against gay marriage.

The Christian Institute: The comments, from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, come as Bideford Town Council in Devon is being sued by a secularist campaign group over prayers it says at the start of council meetings.

One News Now: Alliance Defense Fund senior legal counsel Austin R. Nimocks says the Ninth Circuit’s decision could have long-lasting effects on the American judicial process. “The American people deserve a court system that upholds the integrity of the judicial process,” says Nimocks. “The orders we are requesting are necessary for that reason. Violating standards, rules, and court orders threatens to undermine the public’s confidence in the federal court system.”

KGTV San Diego: The crosses were removed by workers from the California Department of Transportation in August after receiving complaints from citizens about religious symbols on state property. Since then, they’ve been stored in a Caltrans warehouse. In a statement from the National Center for Law and Policy, attorney Dean Broyles wrote: “The crosses should never have been removed — especially after receiving only a few e-mail complaints from disgruntled ‘bah humbug’ citizens.’”

WorldNetDaily: “A woman’s right to make a fully informed choice is more important than Planned Parenthood’s bottom line,” said Steven H. Aden, a senior counsel for the ADF. “If Planned Parenthood truly cared about the well-being of women, it would not try to prevent them from being informed of the well-documented risk of suicide that accompanies abortion.”

Cathy Ruse at Human Events: They are represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, which obtained a temporary restraining order against the hospital in November. The hospital temporarily consented to the order, but will fight it at a hearing set for Dec. 22. The hospital received $60 million in federal taxpayer funds this year, maybe more

Asbury Park Press: Attorneys for the nurses contend that “UMDNJ admits that it is breaking the law. It simply asks this Court to let it do so.” Meanwhile, UMDNJ has called the lawsuit “nothing more than a vehicle to promote the anti-abortion political agenda of the Alliance Defense Fund,” referring to the legal organization representing the nurses.

Annette Lathrop at Wallowa.com: Coalescing behind the ACLU and the Freedom from Religion Foundation (a Wisconsin-based group), the Christmas haters are among those who “have been on a mission to eliminate public expression of our nation’s faith and heritage,” according to the Alliance Defense Fund. This well-known legal group is often called to answer court challenges. [more]

Reuters: The case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is Perry v. Brown, no. 11-17255. For Perry et al: Theodore Olson and Theodore Boutrous of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; David Boies and Jeremy Goldman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. For proponents of Proposition 8: Charles Cooper, David Thompson, Howard Nielson, Nicole Moss and Peter Patterson of Cooper and Kirk; Andrew Pugno of the Law Offices of Andrew Pugno; Brian Raum and James Campbell of the Alliance Defense Fund.

News from The Associated Press: The biggest worry for many is an abrupt order for foreign workers and their employers to start paying up to 40 percent of their wages for pensions and other welfare.

News from The Associated Press: The Human Rights Campaign said in a report to be published Thursday that 207 of the 636 businesses it surveyed for its annual Corporate Equality Index either are already providing transgender- inclusive employee health benefits . . .

SpeakUpMovement Church Blog: New York City Councilman Fernando Cabrera of the Bronx is spearheading an effort to repeal the policy of the New York City Department of Education banning private religious services in public schools during nonschool hours.

Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union: Today, the ACLU petitioned the Supreme Court to hear our case challenging patents on two human genes related to breast and ovarian cancer. The case, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. vs. Myriad Genetics, et al. . . .

News from The Associated Press: Women will be allowed to serve on submarines for the first time in Britain’s history, the country’s defense secretary announced Thursday, after research showed there were no health reasons to support the ban.

SCOTUSblog: This article deals with an issue the Court will confront if it strikes down the mandate: what, if anything, would then be left of the remainder of the Act?

LifeNews.com: Former Planned Parenthood abortion facility director Abby Johnson has joined the team at Americans United for Life to help the pro-life legislative and legal group further expose Planned Parenthood.

December 8, 2011 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact CHAPLAIN ENDORSERS at rcrews@chaplainalliance.org or c/o RON CREWS at 571-293-2427 or DOUGLAS E. LEE at 678-701-5151 Chaplains commend Army chief of chaplains for decision concerning rabbi WASHINGTON — Chaplain endorsers, representing more than …