Religion & Law

Christian father and daughter killed in Iraq

Posted on November 18, 2010
Christian Today: "A six-year-old girl and her Christian father were killed in Mosul in Iraq Tuesday, joining the dozens of believers that have been targeted by Muslim extremists in recent weeks."

Spanish prime minister defends pro-abort policies in face of papal criticism

Posted on November 18, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Stung by plummeting poll numbers and stark criticisms by Pope Benedict XVI during his recent national visit, Spain's socialist prime minister Jose Luis Zapatero is defending some of his most controversial policies, including legalizing abortion on demand during the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy, and institutionalizing homosexual 'marriage...

CWA: A vote for Robert Chatigny is a vote against women

Posted on November 18, 2010
CWA: "Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet and vote on Robert Chatigny?s nomination to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. Concerned Women for America strongly opposes his nomination."

Same-sex ?marriage? and the defeat of Iowa Supreme Court Justices

Posted on November 18, 2010
Eugene Volokh writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "Of course, this vote doesn?t undo the Iowa Supreme Court?s decision; and one question is why the opponents of the decision didn?t try to undo it via constitutional amendment. Amending the Iowa Constitution isn?t easy, but it?s not that hard ? certainly not as hard as amending the U...

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Six pupils excluded from school over Facebook hate campaign against classmate who paid tribute to British troops

Posted on November 18, 2010
Mirror: "Five Muslim boys and a girl, all 12, have been disciplined by the Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry. The threats came after Darius, whose dad is Asian, posted on Facebook: 'RIP to all the lads who never made it home.'"

Congressman warns of pro-abortion CEDAW treaty before hearing

Posted on November 18, 2010
LifeNews: "Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey sent a letter to his Republican colleagues in the Senate warning them of the problems associated with the CEDAW treaty slated for a Thursday hearing."

Michelle Obama picks abortion advocate as new chief of staff

Posted on November 18, 2010
LifeNews: "First Lady Michelle Obama has selected a new chief of staff to replace longtime personal friend and political confidant Susan Sher. She will be replaced with Tina Tchen, who was an abortion activist before joining the White House."

Senate vote likely on Providence lawyer John J. McConnell Jr.?s nomination

Posted on November 18, 2010
Providence Journal: "Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Wednesday that the parliamentary process has been set in motion for a Senate floor vote this year on President Obama?s controversial nomination of Providence lawyer John J. McConnell Jr. to the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island...

?Lightning divorces? strike China?s ?Me Generation?

Posted on November 18, 2010
NPR: "One in every five Chinese marriages now ends in divorce, double the rate a decade ago . . . This trend is sparking concern. Experts fear that the divorce rate will continue to soar, particularly among the younger generation of Chinese born under the country's one-child policy and during China's explosive economic growth...

Ann Coulter: Reduce TSA 90%, we know the terrorists are swarthy, foreign-born Muslim males

Posted on November 18, 2010
Ann Coulter writing at Townhall: "Fortunately, that's the one advantage we have in this war. In a lucky stroke, all the terrorists are swarthy, foreign-born, Muslim males. Only because the terrorists are Muslims do we pretend not to notice who keeps trying to blow up our planes ...

Report: Online video providers not protecting kids

Posted on November 18, 2010
Associated Press: "The advocacy group, which monitors decency issues, evaluated the child appropriateness of four online video portals: Hulu, Comcast's Fancast, AOL's Slashcontrol and AT&T's U-verse. None received a better grade than a D."

New survey identifies religious concerns for 2012 election

Posted on November 18, 2010
Religion Clause: "The Public Religion Research Institute this week released a report on its 2010 Post-Election American Values Survey. The report titled Old Alignments, Emerging Fault Lines: Religion in the 2010 Election and Beyond, reports on three findings that may have importance for the 2012 elections ...

Russia OKs draft bill on church property restitution

Posted on November 18, 2010
Kyiv Post (Reuters): "Russia on Wednesday adopted a draft bill allowing the Russian Orthodox Church to reclaim up to 17,000 buildings and churches nationalised after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. The bill, which sailed through its second and main reading in Russia's lower house of parliament, provides for the hand-over to the increasingly powerful orthodox church of property confiscated by Soviet authorities...

In battle for Texas House Speaker, religion becomes an issue

Posted on November 18, 2010
Religion Clause: "In the Texas state legislature, Joe Straus, the current speaker of the House of Representatives, is being challenged by two other Republicans who are more conservative. Yesterday's Dallas Morning News reports that supporters of challengers Rep...

California bond woe bodes ill for states

Posted on November 18, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "America's strapped states and cities took another hit Wednesday, with California seeing tepid demand for its latest bond sale and other governments pulling about $700 million worth of borrowing deals this week as investors continued stepping away from the municipal bond market...

Supreme Court of South Australia grants injunction against street preachers

Posted on November 18, 2010
City Messenger: "An injunction has been granted against a group of street preachers which places restrictions of them spreading the word in Rundle Mall. The Supreme Court granted the injunction by the Adelaide City Council against six members of the Christian group Street Church and five other preachers on August 31 - with the parties due back in court on November 24...

Vatican warns China over bishop?s ordination

Posted on November 18, 2010
Yahoo (Reuters): "The Vatican warned Beijing on Thursday not to force Catholic bishops loyal to the pope to attend the ordination of a bishop who is a member of the state-backed church that does not recognize the pontiff."

Australia: Kids told not to reference God or Jesus in school concert

Posted on November 18, 2010
The Mosman Daily: "Cammeray Public School students have been told not to make reference to God or Jesus in the school?s end-of-year concert . . . The school?s principal Pamela Crawley initially denied the religious ban, saying it would have been 'crazy' for a teacher to make such a statement, but later, through the Education Department, said the teacher was being counselled over the November 5 incident...

FL: Sanford Airport to opt out of TSA screening

Posted on November 18, 2010
WDBO: "The backlash continues over those new TSA screening measures, and now one Central Florida airport has decided to go with a private security screening firm. Orlando Sanford International Airport has decided to opt out from TSA screening."

Lambda Legal urges IL General Assembly to pass civil unions bill in current veto session

Posted on November 18, 2010
Lambda Legal: "The Illinois General Assembly is expected to vote on a civil unions bill during this veto session, and Lambda Legal urges the Illinois House and Senate to provide much needed protections for same-sex couples."

Same-sex unions corrupt understanding of marriage, says Australian bishop

Posted on November 18, 2010
Catholic Weekly: "Allowing two men or two women to 'marry' would involve a fundamental change in our understanding of marriage, from a life-giving and sexually complementary union to a personal, romantic relationship with no true communion or connection to procreation, says Bishop Julian Porteous, auxiliary Bishop of Sydney...

Mike Huckabee lauds defeat of Iowa Supreme Court judges

Posted on November 18, 2010
Politico: "Mike Huckabee says the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices who in 2009 helped pave the way for same-sex marriage in the state shows that 'people are sick to death of one branch of government thinking it is more powerful than the other two put together...

Cardinal Giacomo Biffi: Aggressive homosexual ideology silencing Christians

Posted on November 18, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "An 'aggressive ideology,' a behavioral theory of 'complete debauchery,' is loose in the world, and appears to be winning against the traditional Christian culture of the west, said Cardinal Giacomo Biffi."

Degradation of women in porn

Posted on November 18, 2010
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "[T]he real revelation wasn?t the seedy, vulgar underbelly of hetero porn ? that was no surprise to [David Foster Wallace]. It was the trend towards degradation porn, towards the mainstreaming of porn premised on male dominance and female subservience, towards sperm spatters used as evidence of dominance, towards simulated rape porn, sadism with paid consent...

Critics blast Obama on faith-based hiring rules

Posted on November 18, 2010
The Oklahoman (RNS): "A day after ordering a host of changes to the White House's faith-based office, President Obama is facing mounting criticism for keeping in place Bush-era policies that allow faith-based social service providers to hire and fire based on religion ...

Pence: Don?t forget social issues

Posted on November 18, 2010
ABC News: "'People are always saying, "should it be spending or social issues?" How about both?' Pence said. 'How about, let's deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America? That would save $350 million right off the top. I have to tell you as I travel around the country, the American people -- millions of Americans, more every day -- are offended that the largest abortion provider in America is also the largest recipient of federal funding under Title 10...

Judge dissolves SD Hutterite colony

Posted on November 18, 2010
The Oklahoman (AP): "The state court system cannot determine which of two factions controls a Hutterite colony in northeast South Dakota because the dispute involves constitutionally protected issues of religious freedom . . . The Supreme Court's ruling came just a day after a lower court judge ordered that the corporation governing the Hutterville Colony near Stratford be dissolved, its assets be sold and the proceeds distributed to members...

CA: Judge mulls licensing decision for Octomom doc

Posted on November 18, 2010
Associated Press: "An administrative judge is considering whether the fertility doctor for 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman should keep his medical license. Lawyers wrapped up closing arguments Thursday in the state medical board hearing for Dr. Michael Kamrava...

CEDAW report pressures nations on abortion as Congress holds hearing

Posted on November 18, 2010
LifeNews: "The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women ('CEDAW') released its concluding observations for its 47th session, which was held in Geneva from October 4th through the 22nd of October, 2010."

ACLU fights for male contraception buys

Posted on November 18, 2010
KXAN: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project Tuesday called upon Walgreens to follow company policy and cease gender discrimination by refusing to sell emergency contraception to men."

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