Religion & Law

Right declares war on NPR

Posted on October 21, 2010
Politico: "NPR?s decision to fire Juan Williams over comments he made about Muslims on Fox News has prompted calls on the right for Congress to remove its funding and concern on the left that NPR may have just handed its critics a powerful weapon for painting the broadcaster as liberal...

Vatican synod sees growing concern over Islam

Posted on October 21, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "The special Synod for Bishops for the Middle East is winding down. It will conclude with a celebration of Mass by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 24. Participants seem increasingly concerned about the growth of extremist forms of 'political Islam' in the region...

5th Circuit: Recipient of child pornography can challenge ?sex offender? label prior to release and registration

Posted on October 21, 2010
Pearson v. Holder, No. 09-10808 (5th Cir. Oct. 20, 2010) 5th Circuit: Recipient of child pornography can challenge "sex offender" label prior to release and registration.

The Rutherford Institute to represent pilot who refused virtual strip search

Posted on October 21, 2010
ChristianNewsWire: "In a case involving the continuing encroachment of modern technology upon personal privacy, The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of an airline pilot who refused to submit to airport security screening that exposes intimate details of a person's body to government agents...

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Ted Olson: Obama should not appeal DADT injunction

Posted on October 21, 2010
ABC News: "'I don't know what is going through the [Obama] administration's thought process on "don't ask, don't tell,"' Olson said. 'It would be appropriate for them to say "the law has been deemed unconstitutional, we are not going to seek further review of that...

UK: Court ruling gives more weight to pre-nuptials

Posted on October 21, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Judges yesterday ruled in favour of giving more weight to pre-nuptial agreements, but the decision does not mean ?pre-nups? are legally binding in England and Wales. A pre-nup is a contract made between a couple before marriage which says who will get what if they split up...

Video game makers fight Cal. violence restrictions

Posted on October 21, 2010
ABA Journal: "In its brief in Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association, which is scheduled for oral argument on Nov. 2, California declares that 'violent video games, like sexual images, can be harmful to minors and have little or no redeeming social value for them' ...

Breakdown: The housing situation

Posted on October 20, 2010
Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson writing at The Center for Vision & Values: "You?ve probably seen the headlines about major banks suspending foreclosure proceedings to reclaim houses from borrowers who have defaulted on their mortgages. This has the potential to be hugely disruptive?a milestone development comparable to the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, after which all hell broke loose...

More judges seem to be jumping the gun on clerkship offers

Posted on October 20, 2010
Law.com: "Are the Wild West days of federal clerk hiring back? That's what some law school administrators and judges fear. They worry that the voluntary system whereby federal judges wait until September of the 3L year to hire clerks is teetering."

Emails reveal Democrats for Life admitting ObamaCare funds abortions

Posted on October 20, 2010
LifeNews: "Democrats for Life of America is supporting Ohio congressman Steve Driehaus in his bid to put the head of a pro-life group in jail for informing his constituents about his vote for taxpayer-funded abortions. However, internal emails LifeNews...

Roberts: Attending State of Union up to each judge

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday it's up to each member of the Supreme Court to decide whether to attend the president's State of the Union addresses, but he wouldn't discuss whether he thinks the speeches should be a forum for the executive branch to critique the court's decisions...

Christians in Turkey acquitted of ?insulting Turkishness?

Posted on October 20, 2010
Compass Direct: "After four years of legal battle in a Turkish court, a judge acquitted two Christians of insulting Turkey and its people by spreading Christianity, but not without slapping them with a hefty fine for a spurious charge."

MN Sec. of State candidate Severson: There?s no such thing as separation of church and state

Posted on October 20, 2010
Minnesota Independent: "'Quite often you hear people say, "What about separation of church and state?" There is no such thing,' Severson told Brandon. 'I mean it just does not exist, and it does not exist in America for a purpose, because we are a Christian nation...

Time for health care case?

Posted on October 20, 2010
Lyle Denniston writing at SCOTUSblog: "The Court is now scheduled to consider, at its private Conference on Nov. 5, a case filed by a California-based conservative legal advocacy group, the Pacific Justice Institute, and by a former California state legislator, Steve Baldwin, who is a devotee of limited government and now objects to the idea that the government could compel him to buy health insurance...

John Finnis: The other f-word

Posted on October 20, 2010
John Finnis, Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy in the University of Oxford and the Biolchini Family Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, has this article at Public Discourse: "The Other F-Word." The Public Discourse editors summarize: "In an article adapted from his debate last week with Peter Singer and Maggie Little on the moral status of the 'fetus,' Professor Finnis explains that outside of medical contexts use of the word 'fetus' is offensive, dehumanizing, prejudicial, and manipulative...

Witness: Octuplet mother?s doctor remorseful

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "A witness says Nadya Suleman's fertility doctor has expressed remorse for providing the mother of 14 with treatments that helped her conceive octuplets."

Turkey fails to resolve dispute over head scarves

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Turkey's governing party failed to win key opposition support on Wednesday for plans to lift a ban on the wearing of Islamic head scarves at universities, a deeply divisive issue in a country with secular laws and a Muslim population...

China paper blasts Western-style democracy

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "China's ruling Communist Party called Wednesday for its members to reject Western-style democratic notions amid a brewing debate on the direction of future political reform."

Troops discharged for being ?gay? try to re-enlist

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "At least three service members discharged for being gay have begun the process to re-enlist after the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation's history."

30% see no point in contacting their Senator or Congressman

Posted on October 20, 2010
Rasmussen: "Thirty percent (30%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe it isn't worth the effort trying to contact their senator or congressman, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey."

Court upholds Vatican bank account seizure

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "A Rome court on Wednesday upheld the seizure of euro23 million ($33 million) from a Vatican bank account, prompting the Vatican to react in 'astonishment.'"

TIME: Will the Federal Reserve cause a civil war?

Posted on October 20, 2010
TIME / The Curious Capitalist: "What is the most likely cause today of civil unrest? Immigration. Gay Marriage. Abortion. The Results of Election Day. The Mosque at Ground Zero. Nope. Try the Federal Reserve . . .

Obama requests emergency stay of DADT order

Posted on October 20, 2010
"In court documents filed in San Francisco, California, the administration asked that the status quo prevail with the policy known as 'don't ask, don't tell.'"

What the Left doesn?t understand about America

Posted on October 20, 2010
Conn Carroll writing at The Heritage Foundation / The Foundry: "Monday was the third time in a little over a month that President Obama wrote the Creator out of one of our nation?s founding documents . . . And the President is not alone. MSNBC's new 'Lean Forward' Progressive Movement branding campaign also leaves out 'by their Creator' from their reading of the Declaration...

Nigeria: Muslim sect kills despite crackdown

Posted on October 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Members of a Muslim sect blamed for recent violence across northern Nigeria apparently have shot dead another police officer, despite a military crackdown in the region, authorities said Wednesday."

China said to widen its embargo of vital minerals; denies plan to cut export quotas

Posted on October 20, 2010
New York Times: "China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted some shipments of those materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said this week." CNBC (Reuters): "A commerce ministry official denied a report that China would cut export quotas for rare earth metals by 30 percent next year, the China Business News said on Wednesday...

Maggie Gallagher: Don?t blame me for ?gay? teen suicides

Posted on October 20, 2010
These kinds of negative outcomes are consistent with the idea that anti-gay bullying is mainly responsible for the higher suicide rate among gay teens. But as I kept reading, I kept finding pieces of the puzzle that don't seem to fit the "it's homophobia pulling the trigger" narrative.

Joe Infranco on Radio: Principal in trouble over prayer breakfast endorsement

Posted on October 20, 2010
ADF attorney Joe Infranco appeared on Relevant Radio to discuss this: Calif. school district threatens to terminate principal for endorsing prayer breakfast | MP3 audio 19:06 mins | Joe also appeared on AFR Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to discuss the same case...

Pro-life students endure taunts, threats to save 8 babies during silent day

Posted on October 20, 2010
LifeNews: "Tens of thousands of pro-life students endured taunts and threats from fellow students today to don red tape and keep their mouths shut in remembrance for the unborn children who have been killed in abortions. But dealing with the harassment paid off for the eight students who helped prevent abortions...

Daniel Blomberg on the Janet Mefferd Show: Judge strikes voter approved Arkansas law

Posted on October 20, 2010
ADF attorney Daniel Blomberg on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this: ADF: Voter-approved Act 1 adoption, foster care law should be upheld | MP3 audio 19:17  mins

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