Religion & Law

Federalist convention comes at right time for potential hill staffers

Posted on November 17, 2010
Blog of LegalTimes: "Thursday marks the beginning of the annual national convention of the Federalist Society, which every November offers its members the chance to debate ideas, see old friends and network with new contacts. This year?s meeting has the advantage of coming barely two weeks after the Republicans? victories in the midterm elections...

Scholar presses for more Supreme Court diversity

Posted on November 17, 2010
Blog of LegalTimes: "University of Virginia professor emeritus Daniel Meador yesterday sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.) asserting that 'In some important respects, the current membership is the least diverse in the Court?s history, a situation that is unhealthy for the governance of the country, both politically and jurisprudentially...

Democrats plan votes on controversial nominees, Senator says

Posted on November 17, 2010
"Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said today that Democrats could move soon to end debate on the nominees. He said that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was lining up support this morning for what?s known as a cloture petition ? the necessary paperwork before holding a vote to end debate...

Low-tax states will gain seats, high-tax union states will lose them

Posted on November 17, 2010
Washington Examiner: "Migration from high-tax states to states with lower taxes and less government spending will dramatically alter the composition of future Congresses, according to a study by Americans for Tax Reform."

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Yes, DADT repeal could still pass, Senate staffers say

Posted on November 17, 2010
"These staffers tell me they've received private indications from a handful of moderate GOP Senators that they could vote for cloture on a Defense Authorization Bill with DADT repeal in it -- if Dem leaders agree to hold a sustained debate on the bill on the Senate floor...

Murkowski wins reelection in Alaska Senate campaign

Posted on November 17, 2010
The Hill: "Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) became the first senator in more than 50 years to win a write-in victory. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday, almost two whole weeks after voters headed to the polls."

Canadian ?gay? custody battle could redefine parenthood

Posted on November 17, 2010
Toronto Sun: "The fight between two Calgary gay ex-lovers over custody of their daughter could advance same-sex parenthood rights in Alberta, says one of the litigants. The man says Court of Queen's Bench is expected to rule Dec. 8 on whether the province will be paying his past and future legal fees in a four-year battle that could fill a void in Alberta's Family Law Act that fails to legally define gay men as fathers...

AR: Teen girl can wear tuxedo in yearbook picture

Posted on November 17, 2010
KSPR: "A graduation gift came early for a Marion High School senior. Sarah Lloyd will be able to wear a tuxedo for her picture in the school yearbook. The Crittenden County School Board voted Tuesday night to allow the teen to wear the formal outfit."

Canada: Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to delay sexual orientation survey

Posted on November 17, 2010
Ottawa Citizen: "The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is delaying a controversial survey that would ask students to identify their sexual orientation, religion, and whether they have family problems. The delay is in response to a request made by Ontario?s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner...

Peter Lawler: Locke and today?s judicial activism on marriage

Posted on November 17, 2010
Peter Lawler writing at First Things / Postmodern Conservative: "Marriage has become, we can say, individualized or Lockeanized enough that homosexuals can reasonably wonder why they are being excluded . . . What's new is the rights-based tendency to stigmatize those opposed to same-sex marriage as unjust, as deniers of the self-evident truths that bind us all together ...

Breyer says Justices must adapt to Facebook world

Posted on November 17, 2010
NPR: "The 72-year-old justice said in a speech at Vanderbilt Law School on Tuesday that he was perplexed when he recently saw the film 'The Social Network' about the origins of Facebook. But Breyer said the film illustrates his argument that modern conditions ? like the development of the social-networking site ? should inform justices when interpreting a Constitution written in the 18th century...

UK: Concern over ?pornographic? NHS videos aimed at kids

Posted on November 17, 2010
The Christian Institute: "School children are being encouraged to watch a series of 'graphic' videos depicting casual sex, under a new NHS scheme to promote condom use. The NHS uploaded the interactive clips to the video sharing website, YouTube. But the clips are likely to heighten concerns about the increasingly explicit nature of youngsters? sex education...

UK: Fire brigade cuts Christian references from Remembrance service

Posted on November 17, 2010
Telegraph: "Norfolk?s fire service said it had taken the decision because some staff felt excluded in previous years by the Christian references during Remembrance Day . . . 'With this in mind we have decided that this year our commemoration will not be linked to any specific faith or belief but will still offer people the chance to remember together...

Embryonic stem cells are over-hyped, says scientist

Posted on November 17, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Stem cell research that destroys human embryos is getting disproportionate funding because its controversial nature stirs up media hype, a scientist has warned. Dr Colin McGuckin says funding for the ethical alternative ? adult stem cell research ? is being hampered by a lack of publicity...

Doctor defends Octomom?s fertility treatments

Posted on November 17, 2010
Washington Post: "A doctor testifying on behalf of 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman's fertility doctor repeatedly defended the in vitro treatments she received, saying it was appropriate considering her impaired fertility and desire for a very large family."

Australian surrogacy law ?of grave concern?

Posted on November 17, 2010
Sydney Star Observer: "The Surrogacy Bill 2010 has been welcomed for giving certainty to parents entering altruistic surrogacy arrangements, but blasted for punishing those who enter into commercial arrangements with up to two years jail or a fine of $110,000 or both...

Canada: Fertility agency chief domineering, MPs told

Posted on November 17, 2010
National Post: "Canada's controversial fertility agency is headed by a president who intimidates the board members overseeing her work, makes disparaging remarks about fertility patients and seems eager to undermine the very law she is supposed to enforce, a parliamentary committee heard on Tuesday ...

The legalism of political Christianity

Posted on November 17, 2010
Jordan Ballor writing at The Acton Institute: "What is shared in what we might call the ?legalistic impulse? of much of both conservative and progressive political Christianity is the priority of the role of the government in determining the course of our social life...

Saudi Arabian gov?t blocks Facebook over moral concerns

Posted on November 17, 2010
Devils Lake Journal: "An official with Saudi Arabia's communications authority says it has blocked Facebook because the popular social networking website doesn't conform with the kingdom's conservative values."

Switzerland: Minaret ban stays in media focus one year on

Posted on November 17, 2010
Swiss Info: "The row over the local minaret has not gone away. It had already received planning permission from the town before the vote was held, and that was confirmed by the cantonal authorities in September 2010. Opponents have now taken their case to the cantonal administrative court, which is expected to rule in 2011...

Clinton: US opposes religious defamation bans

Posted on November 17, 2010
Washington Post: "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration is firmly opposed to attempts to ban statements that defame religion, arguing that attempts to impose them by mainly Islamic countries harm free speech."

David French: The crushing burden of divorce

Posted on November 17, 2010
ADF Attorney David French writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "The longer I live, and the more time I spend in the Christian conservative movement, the more keenly I?m aware of the extent to which divorce is devastating the Body of Christ. It?s destroying children?s lives, destroying their parents, and destroying our cultural witness ...

Pelosi elected minority leader

Posted on November 17, 2010
CNN Political Ticker: "Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been elected by her colleagues to be the next minority leader, fending off a challenge from Rep. Heath Shuler. The vote was 150-43."

Secretary Clinton releases annual report on int?l religious freedom today

Posted on November 17, 2010
Secretary Clinton: "Good afternoon. It?s my pleasure to join you today for the release of the State Department?s Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Every year, the State Department prepares a comprehensive review of the status of religious freedom in countries and territories around the world...

Center for Reproductive Rights: Costa Rica?s new IVF law ?unacceptable?

Posted on November 17, 2010
Center for Reproductive Rights: "Even though IVF has helped countless couples around the world have children they desperately want, Costa Rica has outlawed it since 2000. The Center filed an friend-of-the-court brief supporting a lawsuit against the absolute ban before the IACHR in 2004...

President Obama signs Executive Order to reform Faith-Based Initiative

Posted on November 17, 2010
"Clarifies the principle that organizations engaging in explicitly religious activity must perform these activities outside of and separately in time and location from programs supported with Federal financial assistance, and that participation in any explicit religious activity must be voluntary"

Napolitano may exempt Muslims from airport pat-downs

Posted on November 16, 2010
Corruption Chronicles: "As the U.S. government retaliates against an American for refusing to allow airport security to grope his genitals, the nation?s Homeland Security secretary considers waiving the intrusive 'pat-downs' for Muslim women who consider them offensive...

Contraceptives are polluting women?s bodies and the environment, but who cares?

Posted on November 16, 2010
Mercator Net: "[T]here are tell-tale signs that a particular type of pollutant, the endocrine disruptor, is wreaking havoc on our ecosystems. And as the world?s rivers are in a crisis of ominous proportions, we are witnessing the alarming effects wrought by estrogenic substances on aquatic life...

Rutherford Institute sues Dept. of Homeland Security and TSA over scanners

Posted on November 16, 2010
The Rutherford Institute: (links to the complaint) "In a case involving the continuing encroachment of modern technology upon personal privacy, The Rutherford Institute has filed a Fourth Amendment lawsuit in federal court against Janet Napolitano, secretary of the U...

France to examine same-sex ?marriage? law

Posted on November 16, 2010
"France's highest court of appeal on Tuesday asked the Constitutional Council to rule on whether gay marriage should remain illegal after individuals asked a court to examine the legality of the articles in French law that ban same-sex marriage."

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