Religion & Law

Charters give education in New Orleans a fresh start

Posted on November 22, 2010
Dallas Morning News: "Today, 70 percent of New Orleans public school students attend a charter school. No other city comes close. (Dallas' rate is 10 percent and growing.) So educators, lawmakers and researchers are watching for results. One early lesson: The relative freedom of charter schools ? they're independently run and exempt from many state education laws ? appears to have been key to an overall boost in student performance in New Orleans...

Ban the burqa? France votes yes

Posted on November 22, 2010
Benjamin Ismail writing in The Middle East Quarterly: "Does the vehemence of some media criticism imply that the banning of the niqab and the burqa is too sensitive and too complex an issue to be determined by law? Quite the reverse in fact. The question of whether France should legally ban the wearing of the full-face cover on its territory was answered in the affirmative, resoundingly and unequivocally, during parliamentary debates held over the past two years...

New Harvard report on Arizona?s tuition tax credit debunks myths

Posted on November 22, 2010
Goldwater Institute: "Harvard University?s Program on Education Policy and Governance has published a new report on the Arizona tuition scholarship tax credit. The report does a great deal to answer the misleading claims of some of the program?s critics...

Leak of Pope?s comments on condoms set off firestorm

Posted on November 22, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "The Vatican on Sunday rushed to clarify a recent interview by Pope Benedict XVI, in which the pontiff states for the first time that there may be some cases in which the Roman Catholic Church's ban on condoms isn't absolute . . ...

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NPR hails ?good judgment? in Congress for voting down funding cuts

Posted on November 22, 2010
The Hill / Briefing Room: "NPR hailed the 'good judgment' of lawmakers on Thursday who rejected an effort to cut funding for public radio. NPR hailed a failed vote by Congress to cut off its funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds both NPR and PBS...

FCC seeks to regulate Internet

Posted on November 22, 2010
Politico: "Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is putting together a net neutrality proposal and plans to take action on [net neutrality] as early as next month, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation . ...

Janice Shaw Crouse: Cohabitation nation

Posted on November 22, 2010
Janice Shaw Crouse writing in the Washington Times: "Acccording to the latest census report, the number of cohabiting couples escalated from 6.7 million in 2009 to 7.5 million just one year later. Living together has become today's 'normative experience,' with nearly 50 percent of young adults aged 20 to 40 cohabiting ...

Okla. sharia law dispute goes to court

Posted on November 22, 2010
Washington Times: "A federal judge will hear arguments Monday on a preliminary injunction against one of the most contentious ballot measures in this month's elections -- an Oklahoma referendum that banned state courts from considering international or Islamic law when deciding cases...

Teachers union boss takes in $428K, demands shared sacrifice

Posted on November 22, 2010
Washington Examiner / Beltway Confidential: "American Federation of Teachers president Rhonda 'Randi' Weingarten has issued a statement slamming proposed cuts from the congressional deficit commission for not pushing shared sacrifice among the wealthy, but an AFT spokesman has told The Examiner that Weingarten will not be taking a paycut from the total $428,284 she received in salary and benefits during fiscal year 2010...

TN: Antioch church fights $400,000 tax bill

Posted on November 22, 2010
WKRN: "Christ Church may take its fight to not pay more than $400,000 in property taxes to Davidson County Chancery Court . . . The church is working with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is a legal alliance that deals specifically with defending religious freedom...

Order blocking Okla. Islamic law measure extended

Posted on November 22, 2010
Associated Press: "A federal judge on Monday said she would rule by the end of the month on a lawsuit challenging an Oklahoma constitutional amendment that would prohibit state courts from considering international or Islamic law when deciding cases."

AP: Figures on government spending and debt

Posted on November 22, 2010
Associated Press: "Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30."

Minn. justices hear case to check gov. vote math

Posted on November 22, 2010
Associated Press: "Minnesota Supreme Court justices are deliberating over a Republican lawsuit casting doubt about whether the number of governor's race votes squares with rosters of voters."

Maryland abortionist accused of causing client?s death permanently surrenders license

Posted on November 22, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Abortionist Romeo Ferrer, who stood accused of negligence in the death of Denise Crow in February, 2006, has permanently surrendered his Maryland medical license and promised not to seek licensure in any other state."

MO: Columbia Planned Parenthood to resume abortions

Posted on November 22, 2010
KOMU: "After a three-month hiatus due to what the company called 'scheduling issues,' the Columbia Planned Parenthood said Monday it has resumed in-clinic abortions."

FBI ?hate crime? stats again debunk myth of anti-Muslim backlash

Posted on November 22, 2010
Jonathan S. Tobin writing at Commentary / Contentions: "The release of the latest FBI report on hate crimes this week adds more weight to the doubts raised about the mythical backlash against Muslims. The new statistics published on the U.S. Department of Justice website show that there were only 107 reported incidents of anti-Islamic hate crimes in the country during 2009...

CBC asks judge for permission to broadcast landmark polygamy trial

Posted on November 22, 2010
Winnipeg Free Press: "The 'historic' court case in British Columbia that could decide whether polygamy is legal in Canada is a matter of immense national importance and should be televised, a lawyer for the CBC argued Monday on the opening day of the hearings...

Who?s responsible for delinquent children? Iowa Supreme Court weighs in

Posted on November 22, 2010
Adam Freedman writing at Ricochet: "[The City Council of Davenport, IA] passed a law requiring parents to exercise control over their minor children. The law said that if a child has two or more episodes of delinquency (resulting in a complaint filed in court), there will be a 'presumption' that the parent violated his or her duty ...

Licensing Families

Posted on November 22, 2010
Amazon.com description for Licensing Families by Michael McFall: "In Licensing Parents, Michael McFall argues that political structures, economics, education, racism, and sexism are secondary in importance to the inequality caused by families, and that the family plays the primary role in a child's acquisition of a sense of justice...

Dangerous UN Women?s treaty looms on horizon

Posted on November 22, 2010
Selwyn Duke writing at The New American: "While Americans are thinking about turkey and the TSA (and turkeys in the TSA), as is often the case, the most destructive governmental shenanigans are occurring behind the scenes. On Thursday, November 18, the Senate held hearings on the UN?s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a treaty that could be used to justify sweeping social engineering across the nation...

FFRF complains about Christian Heritage Week

Posted on November 22, 2010
Freedom From Religion Foundation: "The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent letters of complaint on behalf of its 700 Florida members and a local resident objecting to proclamations declaring Christian Heritage Week by the Vero Beach City Council and the Indian River County Board of Commissioners...

Ontario: Judge reserves decision on prostitution laws

Posted on November 22, 2010
Toronto Star: "An Ontario court of appeal judge will reserve judgment on arguments made Monday by the federal and provincial governments, who pleaded with the court to extend a 60-day stay on a controversial ruling to strike down Canada?s prostitution laws...

Kevin Theriot: SD court refuses to referee church dispute

Posted on November 22, 2010
ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: "In the recent case, Hutterville v. Warden, the South Dakota Supreme Court rightly refused to get involved in a church dispute because it would have interfered with religious freedom . ...

?Gay, lesbian clubs bring homosexuality to school?

Posted on November 22, 2010
Letter to the Editor of the Tidewater News: "Unfortunately, the issues of 'bullying' and 'safe schools' have provided those who seek to normalize and promote homosexuality a way to infiltrate our schools. Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network poses as a 'club' formed to improve relationships between hetero and homosexuals but functions more like a recruitment center...

OH: Bowling Green voters OK anti-bias measures

Posted on November 22, 2010
Dayton Daily News: "Unofficial results had shown Bowling Green voters approved only one measure on Nov. 2. The Blade of Toledo reports the Wood County Board of Elections on Monday found both passed after provisional ballots were certified."

Scalia: Founders never thought ?gay sex? and abortion were protected liberties

Posted on November 22, 2010
ABA Journal: "Justice Antonin Scalia defended originalism on Friday, warning that interpreting the Constitution as a 'living document' effectively allows 'five out of nine hotshot lawyers to run the country.' Unless judges give words in the Constitution their fair meaning, democracy doesn?t work, Scalia said in a speech at the University of Richmond...

Viewers pull plug on US cable television; Do web platforms give parents more control?

Posted on November 22, 2010
Financial Times [full text via Google News]: "The number of people subscribing to US cable television services has suffered its biggest decline in 30 years as younger, tech-savvy viewers lead an exodus to web-based operations, such as Hulu and Netflix...

NJ lawmakers approve bullying law

Posted on November 22, 2010
Associated Press: "New Jersey lawmakers have approved what advocates say will be the nation's toughest laws to fight bullying in institutions of learning . . . It would require anti-bullying programs in public schools and language in college codes of conduct to address bullying...

Pakistani President pardons Christian woman on death row

Posted on November 22, 2010
Christian Post: "Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday pardoned Asia Bibi (also referred to as Asia Noreen by some media), the first woman sentenced to death for blasphemy."

Boehner: A leader on school choice

Posted on November 22, 2010
The Heritage Foundation: "House Minority Leader John Boehner (R?OH) made quite a statement last Monday when, on his first day back in office post-elections, he took time out to meet with parents and children enrolled in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP)...

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