Religion & Law

Prosecution ?fear? for church civil partnership critics

Posted on March 24, 2010
BBC News: "Plans for civil partnership ceremonies in churches could result in some clergy being prosecuted, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned. In a letter to the Times newspaper, Lord Carey suggests ministers could face claims of discrimination if they fail to conduct the ceremonies...

Thomas Sowell: A Point of No Return?

Posted on March 24, 2010
Thomas Sowell writes at Real Clear Politics: "The voters will have had no experience with the actual, concrete effect of the government takeover of medical care at the time of either the 2010 Congressional elections or the 2012 Presidential elections...

?Hearing for 9th Circuit Nominee on Hold?

Posted on March 24, 2010
How Appealing quoting the Blog of the Legal Times: "The Senate Judiciary Committee has suspended a highly anticipated confirmation hearing for Goodwin Liu, nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, because of a little-used rule that constrains when Senate committees may meet...

Indonesian police ban regional ?gay? conference

Posted on March 24, 2010
AP: "Indonesian police ordered the cancellation Wednesday of a conference of Asian gay activists, saying it could prompt violent protests by conservative Muslim groups."

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Ethicist urges Christian universities to stand strong

Posted on March 24, 2010
Baptist Standard: "Christian universities that maintain a strong faith commitment?while also holding to high academic standards?are swimming against the tide of secularism and performing a public service, ethicist David Gushee told a group at Wayland Baptist University...

FL: Leon County commissioners move forward with homosexual discrimination measure

Posted on March 24, 2010
Tallahassee.com: "Leon County commissioners voted 4-3 tonight to move forward with an ordinance designed to give protection to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They gave tentative approval on an ordinance that would ban discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation and physical characteristics ...

ME: Catholic Diocese withdraws funding from same-sex ?marriage? supporting social service agency

Posted on March 24, 2010
Portland Press Herald: "A social service agency's support for same-sex marriage has cost it local and national funding from the Catholic Church's anti-poverty program . . . Officials with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and the Washington-based Catholic Campaign for Human Development say that Preble Street violated its grant agreement by supporting Maine's 'No on 1' campaign last fall...

Google?s Brin Talks About China Gamble

Posted on March 24, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Behind Google Inc.'s dramatic decision to shutter its China-based search engine this week was co-founder Sergey Brin's change of heart about the compromises required to do business in a land that was increasingly reminding him of his native Soviet Union ...

Turkish PM Warns Judiciary Over Attacks on Reforms

Posted on March 24, 2010
NY Times (Reuters): "Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Turkey's judges on Tuesday they had no right to oppose constitutional reform plans that pit him against a secular elite alarmed by what it sees as growing Islamist influence."

Resistance against N. Korean regime taking root, survey suggests

Posted on March 24, 2010
Washington Post: "There is mounting evidence that Kim Jong Il is losing the propaganda war inside North Korea, with more than half the population now listening to foreign news, grass-roots cynicism undercutting state myths and discontent rising even among elites ...

Washington: Mother furious after in-school clinic sets up teen?s abortion

Posted on March 24, 2010
KOMONews.com: "The mother of a Ballard High School student is fuming after the health center on campus helped facilitate her daughter's abortion during school hours . . . "

Canada: Right-wing U.S. firebrand Ann Coulter will file grievance with rights panel

Posted on March 24, 2010
Vancouver Sun: "Inflammatory right-wing pundit Ann Coulter took aim at a University of Ottawa administrator Monday night, saying an e-mail from the school warning her to use 'restraint, respect and consideration' when addressing Ontario students during a speaking tour this week made her a victim of a 'hate crime...

AZ town votes to amend zoning code allowing for church services in homes

Posted on March 24, 2010
Christian Law Journal: "The Mayor and Council Members of Gilbert, Ariz., unanimously agreed Monday evening that the town must not regulate Church services and 'religious assembly' in homes . . . Doug Napier with the Alliance Defense Fund, who is representing the church, was encouraged by the town?s response and said his clients simply want them to comply with constitutionally-protected religious freedoms...

Health Care Law Signals End of US Empire, End of Western Christian empire as a system?

Posted on March 24, 2010
"To understand some of the big changes sometimes long term history affects the now . . . thats really the end of the Western Christian empire . . . . its the end of a whole system . . . "

Appeals continue to seek stay of D.C. same-sex ?marriage? law

Posted on March 24, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Opponents of a Washington, D.C. same-sex 'marriage' law are appealing a court order that denied a motion to prevent the law from going into effect . . . 'The people have a right to have the final say on any law regarding marriage passed by the D...

Your Medical Records Aren?t Secure

Posted on March 24, 2010
Deborah C. Peel writes at the Wall Street Journal: "In a January 2009 speech, President Barack Obama said that his administration wants every American to have an electronic health record by 2014, and last year's stimulus bill allocated over $36 billion to build electronic record systems...

Congressman Randy Neugebauer Won?t Back Down Calling Abortion Bill a Baby Killer

Posted on March 24, 2010
LifeNews: "The congressman who shouted 'it's a baby killer' in reference to the pro-abortion health care bill during a Bart Stupak speech on the House floor is not backing down. Rep. Randy Neugebauer says he has no reason to acquiesce to Stupak's demand that he apologize on the House floor for his comment...

Iqbal/Twombly, strange bedfellows, and civil rights

Posted on March 24, 2010
Howard Wasserman writing at PrawfsBlawg: "A new voice in the debate over legislation to overrule Iqbal and Twombly is the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization of 'Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations' that litigates 'civil rights cases in defense of religious freedom, the right to life, and the natural family' ...

Community college student in New York wins victory for free speech

Posted on March 24, 2010
FIRE: "The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has achieved a reversal of course at Kingsborough Community College (KCC) in New York, where student Joseph Hayon was previously restricted from handing out literature on campus." | ADF News Release

NY Christian suddenly arrested, jailed in park prayer case

Posted on March 24, 2010
The Church Report: "A man who had been arrested after praying in 2007 at a public park was suddenly arrested again last week by Elmira police while his case is still on appeal . . . 'Christians shouldn?t be punished for expressing their religious beliefs...

China thwarts Google?s detour around censorship

Posted on March 24, 2010
One News Now (AP): "Google's attempted detour around China's Internet censorship rules was met with countermeasures Tuesday by the communist government, which blocked people on the mainland from seeing search results dealing with such forbidden topics as the pro-democracy movement ...

NJ 2011 budget won?t include abortion funds

Posted on March 24, 2010
One News Now: "New Jersey has an $11 billion budget deficit, and one of the ways Governor Chris Christie is proposing to deal with it is to cut family-planning spending. 'This is good news for those of us who value life, because in New Jersey, Planned Parenthood dominates the network of family planning clinics,' comments Marie Tasy, executive director for New Jersey Right to Life (NJRTL)...

Democrats miss an obvious lesson plan for deprived children

Posted on March 24, 2010
Plainly put, the best predictor of a school's performance is family performance -- qualities of the families from which the students come.

Sexual Junk Food: Porn?s Degrading Effects

Posted on March 24, 2010
CBN: "A group of scholars, social scientists, and psychologists are sounding alarm bells that pornography is much more harmful to society than most people think . . . "

Shocking audio: Rep. Dingell says Obamacare will eventually ?control the people?

Posted on March 24, 2010
Breitbart carries the video.

?GOP Lawmaker Darrell Issa Poised to Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate White House?

Posted on March 24, 2010
CBS: "Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight committee, told CBS News Wednesday that he will call for a special prosecutor to investigate the White House if it does not address Rep. Joe Sestak's claim that he was offered a federal job in exchange for dropping out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary ...

SC: 24-hour abortion wait gets Senate OK

Posted on March 24, 2010
The State: "With barely a whimper the state Senate approved a 24-hour waiting period for for an abortion Wednesday, amending a House-passed measure that was hotly debated last year."

FL: Senate OKs teacher pay, voucher expansion bills

Posted on March 24, 2010
Miami Herald: "Public school teachers' pay and certification renewals would be linked to their students' test scores and it would be easier to fire them under a bill that passed Wednesday in the Florida Senate. The chamber also passed a bill that would expand a private school voucher program...

Dell Leaving China In Search Of ?Safer Environments? In India

Posted on March 24, 2010
Gizmodo: "Dell's said to be joining Google in fleeing China in search of a 'safer environment with [a] climate conducive to enterprise,' potentially taking the $25 billion it spends on equipment and parts in China to India . . . "

Thomas More Society Settles Federal Lawsuit Against City of Aurora

Posted on March 24, 2010
Christian Newswire: ". . . filed two years ago to protect the rights of citizens who pray and protest at the Planned Parenthood facility in Aurora. The settlement requires the City of Aurora to amend two ordinances claimed to be unconstitutional, mandates First Amendment training for Aurora police, and establishes a grievance process to handle disputes between the protesters and Aurora officials ...

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