Religion & Law

?Moderate Baptists flunk U.S. history?

Posted on November 15, 2010
Dave Welch writing at WorldNetDaily: "In a move of stunning ignorance, the Baptist General Association of Virginia recently adopted a resolution taking a back-handed slap at the Texas State Board of Education's vote this year to restore accurate teaching of separation of church and state to social studies curriculum...

La. panel recommends new biology textbooks

Posted on November 15, 2010
WWLTV (AP): "A state panel recommended Friday that Louisiana's top education board adopt a new batch of high school biology textbooks, despite complaints that evolution is taught too matter-of-factly in the books."

Ranks of millionaire college presidents grow

Posted on November 15, 2010
Associated Press: "Thirty presidents received more than $1 million in pay and benefits in 2008, according to an analysis of federal tax forms by The Chronicle of Higher Education. More than 1 in 5 chief executives at the 448 institutions surveyed topped $600,000...

Book review: Constitutional illusions & Anchoring Truths: The Touchstone of the Natural Law

Posted on November 15, 2010
Matthew O'Brien reviews Constitutional Illusions & Anchoring Truths: The Touchstone of the Natural Law (Cambridge University Press) by Hadley Arkes at Public Discourse: "In Constitutional Illusions Arkes revisits in eight chapters a number of the moral, political, and legal problems provoked by American constitutional jurisprudence, which have been the subject of his scholarly and popular writing for nearly fifty years...

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Barna: Is there a ?Reformed? movement in American churches?

Posted on November 15, 2010
Barna Group: "Some observers and journalists have described a movement among Reformed churches, pointing to prominent Reformed pastors and new Reformed church associations as a significant trend. A new study from Barna Group explores whether the so-called 'New Calvinism' has, as yet, affected the allegiances of pastors and whether Reformed churches are growing...

More Chinese students studying in US

Posted on November 15, 2010
Associated Press: "Nearly 128,000 Chinese students studied in America in 2009-10, a 30 percent increase over the previous academic year, the annual study by the Institute of International Education found."

Abortion demand drops in Wash.

Posted on November 15, 2010
Christian Post: "The recent closing of a Washington state abortion clinic may be a reflection of a national drop in the demand for abortion among women ages 15 to 44 . . . Public opinion suggests abortion is increasingly unpopular among Americans. A Gallup poll released in May 2009 found that 51 percent of Americans called themselves 'pro-life' on issues of abortion, compared to 42 percent of those who considered themselves 'pro-choice...

D.C. offers lesson in Charter Schools 101

Posted on November 15, 2010
Washington Post: "The next crop of would-be D.C. charter school operators gathered in a gray conference room on 14th Street one night last week, more than 30 hopeful men and women, each with his or her own pitch . . . The meeting was convened by the District's public charter school board to explain the application process for opening a charter school, a list of requirements that fits into an hour-long PowerPoint presentation...

Del. GOP divided over abortion and other issues

Posted on November 15, 2010
The News Journal: "At the center are scars from a bitter Senate primary between Christine O'Donnell and Mike Castle that thrust Delaware politics into the national spotlight . . . But in the wreckage of Nov. 2, party members are divided about what they need to do to compete with Democrats, who have 110,000 more registered voters...

Planned Parenthood: Abortion shouldn?t be stigmatized

Posted on November 15, 2010
New York Post: "Planned Parenthood of New York City took issue with my post on why abortion should carry a stigma . . . If we agree that the goal is to reduce the need for abortion, and Planned Parenthood is interested in having women make the best decision available to them, why isn't choosing not to abort one of the options listed here?"

Pro-life groups respond to Tea Party activists calling for abortion backdown

Posted on November 15, 2010
LifeNews: "Concerned Women for America leader Penny Nance told LifeNews.com that social issues shouldn?t be set aside and, instead, should share an equal level of important with fiscal issues in the next session of Congress . . . "

California Supreme Court rules in favor of ?tuition equality? for illegal immigrants

Posted on November 15, 2010
ACLU: "The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that students who attend at least three years of high school in California and who graduate from a California high school are eligible for in-state tuition rates at California public colleges and universities, regardless of their immigration status...

Pakistani woman appeals death sentence for ?blasphemy?

Posted on November 15, 2010
Christian Post: "Attorneys for a Christian mother of five sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly speaking ill of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, have filed an appeal of the verdict, they said."

Hillary Clinton to release Annual Report on International Religious Freedom

Posted on November 15, 2010
US Department of State: "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will release the 2010 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom on Wednesday, November 17, at 1:20 p.m. in the Press Briefing Room at the U.S. Department of State."

McCain says he will oppose DADT repeal

Posted on November 15, 2010
CNSNews: "Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said today that in the upcoming lameduck session of Congress he will continue to oppose a repeal of the law that bans homosexuals from serving in the U...

UK: ?People coming out as gay at younger age, research shows?

Posted on November 15, 2010
Guardian: "The average age at which people come out as gay, lesbian or bisexual has fallen steadily over the last four decades, according to Stonewall, the gay rights group. A poll for Stonewall of 1,500 people who were already out found that among the over-60s the average age they had come out was 37...

?DADT splitting gay rights groups?

Posted on November 15, 2010
Washington Post / Federal Eye: "On Monday, three groups that support lifting the gay ban -- the Palm Center at the University of California Santa Barbara, OutServe and Knights Out -- said they want lawmakers to pass the [defense authorization bill] whether or not it includes language ending 'don't ask, don't tell' ...

DeMint: Republican Party needs new Chairman

Posted on November 15, 2010
LifeNews: "Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican who is one of the leading pro-life conservatives in the Senate, says the national Republican Party needs a new chairman. He says electing someone to replace Michael Steele, the pro-life advocate who currently runs the GOP, is crucial to the 2012 election campaign to defeat pro-abortion President Barack Obama...

Culver won?t rule out naming Iowa Supreme Court judges

Posted on November 15, 2010
"Gov. Chet Culver said Monday that he won't hesitate to fill vacancies on the Iowa Supreme Court if recommendations arrive before his departure."

Guam: Amended abortion bill moves to committee

Posted on November 15, 2010
Pacific Daily News: "A bill that would require 'informed consent' and a 24-hour delay before a woman could get an abortion on Guam moved forward yesterday. Bill 54-30, also known as the Woman's Reproductive Health Information Act of 2009, was reported to the legislative Rules Committee yesterday with amendments based on recommendations from the attorney general's office...

Merkel repeats call for PGD pre-natal screening ban

Posted on November 15, 2010
Deutsche Welle: "In her party conference, Angela Merkel reiterated her view that pre-implantation genetic-testing of test-tube fetuses should be banned. But experts say a ban would cause unnecessary stress for couples."

TX: Weatherford City Council approves new SOB zoning code

Posted on November 15, 2010
Weatherford Democrat: "A new zoning code was approved on its first reading by the Weatherford City Council this past week . . . Under the current zoning code, a sexually-oriented business could set up shop anywhere in town. The new zoning code limits those areas, but due to constitutional rights, cannot ban them...

Geneva, IL: Sexually oriented business zoning might be limited to city?s East side

Posted on November 15, 2010
Geneva Patch: "A proposed zoning amendment and licensing regulations would limit adult businesses that want to locate in Geneva to two industrial areas on the city's far East Side. The Plan Commission unanimously approved the amendment Thursday after holding a public hearing on the issue...

MA: Dedham voters will decide on new brunch law, ?adult? zoning

Posted on November 15, 2010
The Boston Globe: "Dedham?s Special Town Meeting will take on a number of questions when it meets tomorrow night, from approving the police contract to setting new boundaries for an 'adult use' district in town."

GOP leader McConnell backs down, agrees to earmark ban

Posted on November 15, 2010
The Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that he will join a GOP effort to ban congressional earmarks. McConnell, one of the Senate's biggest proponents of earmarks, said Monday he had come to the conclusion that he had to lead by example in agreeing to the ban...

Time for Pakistan, signatory to international agreements, to repeal blasphemy law

Posted on November 15, 2010
Michael Nazir-Ali writing in The Guardian: "Pakistan is a signatory to international agreements which prohibit cruel and degrading punishment. It is time for it to honour its commitments and to stand up to extremist purveyors of hate, if it is to have a respected place in the family of nations...

Steep rise in official Dutch euthanasia

Posted on November 15, 2010
BioEdge: "An English translation of the government report on 2009 euthanasia cases in the Netherlands has been released. It includes the statistics about reported cases plus a number of fascinating case studies, including three in which the doctor did not comply with the criteria...

Muslims told to reject West: Canadian intelligence report

Posted on November 15, 2010
"A newly released intelligence report says hard-line Islamist groups want to build a 'parallel society' in Canada, which could undermine the country's social cohesion and foster violence."

What the election results mean for state education reform

Posted on November 15, 2010
The Heritage Foundation: "As a result of last week?s election, 2011 could be a watershed year for education reform and school choice. Many conservative candidates in the states campaigned on returning to local control in education and expanding school choice options for parents...

Prop 8 judge to teach at UC-Berkeley

Posted on November 15, 2010
Law.com: "U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, noted for striking down California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, will teach at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law following his retirement at year's end."

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