Religion & Law

ADF, others urge UN to protect religious expression in civil rights covenant

Posted on October 05, 2010
The Alliance Defense Fund together with several other Christian groups submitted a consultation paper Thursday to a United Nations human rights body urging it not to reinterpret language in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in a way that could turn Christian speech into ?hate speech...

Teen suicides put focus on homosexual behavior, sin, bullying, schools, and religious freedom

Posted on October 05, 2010
"That is four teenagers in just one month. And look at those ages. Two were only 13, one was 15, and Tyler Clementi was 18. That is four dead boys in the space of one horrible month, and all were struggling with sexual identity."

Terminal stage of Western civilization? Video of freshman orientation at the Gustavus Adolphus College (ELCA)?

Posted on October 05, 2010
"Another installment in our ongoing series 'So This Is How It Ends' (STIHIE), which chronicles instances of decadence so advanced that one can only conclude and hope that we are living in a terminal stage of Western civilization."

Richmond, VA: ?Christmas? parade changed to ?holiday? parade

Posted on October 05, 2010
NBC 12: "The 'Dominion Holiday Parade' will make its annual trek down Broad Street on Saturday, December 4." AFA Action Alert: "This year, a company which took over sponsorship of the annual Richmond, Virginia, Christmas parade has ordered the city's organizers to change it to a 'holiday' parade...

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California welfare recipients spent millions in Vegas, tourist hotspots

Posted on October 05, 2010
Fox News: "The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that more than $69 million in welfare money was spent or withdrawn out-of-state since 2007, at hotels and restaurants and ATMs across the country. Of that, nearly $12 million was withdrawn in Las Vegas, some of it at high-dollar shops and casinos along The Strip...

The dark side of IVF

Posted on October 05, 2010
Debora Spar writing at The Daily Beast: "Dr. Edwards? work has clearly led to massive joys for millions of individuals but, more quietly, it has also raised a host of issues that the U.S. refuses to grapple with, much less resolve . . . In the United States ...

Expert: Religious freedom eroding in Britain in the wake of Equalities laws and terrorist threat

Posted on October 05, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "New 'equality' legislation combined with the Northern Irish 'Troubles' and Islamic terrorist bombings in New York and London have created an atmosphere in Britain in which religion in general is held in suspicion, said an expert on religious discrimination law late last month in Dublin...

Scientists overcome hurdles to stem cell alternatives

Posted on October 05, 2010
"A team of researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston published a series of experiments Thursday showing that synthetic biological signals can quickly reprogram ordinary skin cells into entities that appear virtually identical to embryonic stem cells...

No viewpoint-based exclusions from ostensibly open event on college property

Posted on October 05, 2010
Eugene Volokh writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: " . . . But it seems like [in Yates v. Fithian (W.D. Wash. Sept. 23, 2010)] the university rented the space out only for a nonexclusive event, to which students, faculty, and staff were invited. Once it has done so, the court concludes, the government cannot then enforce any viewpoint-based restrictions imposed by the renters...

Gonzales v. Raich and the individual health mandate

Posted on October 05, 2010
Ilya Somin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "When I first considered the question, I thought that Raich?s reasoning was expansive enough to justify the individual mandate . . . A closer look at Raich, however, led me to reconsider my initial view. I presented my revised position in the amicus brief (pp...

Christians converts acquitted in Algeria Ramadan case

Posted on October 05, 2010
Associated Press: "Judicial officials say an Algerian court has acquitted two recent converts to Christianity on trial for offending Islam by eating lunch during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan."

Germany plays down threat of terror attack

Posted on October 05, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "A senior German official played down warnings of a potential terrorist attack in Europe, as Pakistani intelligence officials told reporters a U.S. missile strike in northwest Pakistan reportedly killed several suspected German militants...

Book: Savage?s 37 point ?manifesto for saving America?

Posted on October 05, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "Savage's 37-point plan ? 'Trickle Up Poverty: Stopping Obama's Attack on Our Borders, Economy and Security' by HarperCollins ? hits bookstores today with a call to 'run the country like a business, not an empire; close the borders; institute a flat tax; use profiling to prevent terror attacks; and privatize the regulation of Wall Street;' among others...

Justice Department prosecutors? conduct can tip justice scales

Posted on October 05, 2010
USA Today: "Federal prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely score convictions. But a USA TODAY investigation found that prosecutors repeatedly have violated that duty in courtrooms across the nation. The abuses have put innocent people in prison, set guilty people free and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and sanctions ...

Erwin Chemerinsky: Supreme Court?s conservative majority is making its mark

Posted on October 05, 2010
Erwin Chemerinsky writing at the Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Times: "During the first years of the Roberts court, it has consistently ruled in favor of corporate power . . . the high court has struck down laws regulating firearms as violations of the 2nd Amendment and held that the Constitution protects a right of individuals to possess guns...

Steve Aden on KCMN with Tron Simpson: Embryonic Stem Cell Litigation Update

Posted on October 05, 2010
ADF attorney Steve Aden appeared on KCMN with Tron Simpson to provide an update on the embryonic stem cell litigation. | MP3 audio 7:10 mins

A third of cases to be reviewed this term arise from 9th Circuit

Posted on October 05, 2010
How Appealing Extra by Lawrence Hurley originally published at the Daily Journal: "Of 54 cases the court has agreed to hear so far, 18 are 9th Circuit rulings. The justices will also be reviewing one California Court of Appeal opinion in a product liability case and a direct appeal from the three-judge district court panel that has ordered the state to release thousands of prison inmates...

5th Circuit arguments set in Louisiana single-sex class case

Posted on October 05, 2010
WXVT (AP): "A federal appeals court is the latest setting for a fight over single-sex classrooms between lawyers for a south Louisiana school system and the American Civil Liberties Union."

Rebecca Hagelin: U.S. apologizes for Guatemalan human experiments, what about human embryos?

Posted on October 05, 2010
"So, why experiment on Guatemalan 'patients?' Because they were far removed from American consciousness and laws. They were voiceless, vulnerable, and unprotected. Kind of like human embryos are now."

Majority-Muslim Mich. school settles religion suit by Christian coach

Posted on October 05, 2010
Associated Press: "A wrestling coach who claimed he lost his job at a suburban Detroit high school because of his Christian beliefs has settled the lawsuit for $24,500 . . .The 65-year-old Marszalek was wrestling coach at Fordson High School, where Muslim students are a majority...

Husband in contempt for teaching child Christian faith in violation of divorce settlement

Posted on October 05, 2010
Religion Clause: "In Greene v. Greene, (GA Ct. App., Oct. 1, 2010), a Georgia appellate court upheld a trial court's finding that a divorced husband was in contempt for violating a Settlement Agreement that gave his former wife final decision-making authority over matters related to their daughter's religious upbringing...

Court refuses to dismiss DOJ case against NYC Transit Authority over veils

Posted on October 05, 2010
Religion Clause: "In United States v. New York City Transit Authority, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102704 (E.D.N.Y., Sept. 24, 2010), the Department of Justice sued the New York City Transit Authority claiming that it violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act through polices and practices that discriminate against employees whose religious beliefs require them to wear certain head coverings ...

Al Qaeda terror plot linked to 9/11 Hamburg mosque

Posted on October 05, 2010
Family Security Matters: "On August 20 in these pages, Rael Jean Isaac compared the issue of the proposed Ground Zero mosque with a grubby mosque in Hamburg, Germany. This mosque lies in a side street, next to the Olympic Fitness center, and had been a haunt of at least three of the hijackers who were in planes that were involved in the 9/11 attacks...

Chinese monopoly on rare earth elements poses grave danger

Posted on October 05, 2010
Shawn Ambrosino writing at Townhall: "But over the past couple of decades ? as more and more businesses deferred their production to the cheaper, overseas work-force ? China has slowly gained more and more control over this market, till last year, they produced over 97% of the world?s supply or Rare Earth elements ...

Islamization underway in Bosnia?s higher-education sector

Posted on October 05, 2010
EducationNews.org: "Islamic leaders led by grand mufti Mustafa Ceri? are working closely with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) to establish an Islamic university. A close partner of Malaysia's IIUM, the IIIT is a US-based non-profit organisation working towards Islamising 'secular' spheres...

11 countries seek voice in AZ immigration appeal

Posted on October 05, 2010
Associated Press: "Mexico and 10 other Latin American countries want a federal appeals court to consider their viewpoints in Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's appeal of a ruling that put parts of her state's new immigration law on hold."

German president?s call for religious tolerance of Muslims praised, criticized

Posted on October 05, 2010
Deutsche Welle: "German President Christian Wulff's speech to commemorate the 20th anniversary of German reunification, in which he called for the integration of Muslims in Germany, has met with praise and light criticism among religious groups and politicians in the country ...

Survey: Latinos still strongly support Democrats

Posted on October 05, 2010
Associated Press: "The center's national survey, released Tuesday, found 51 percent of Latino registered voters were absolutely certain they would vote - compared with 70 percent of U.S. voters - and 65 percent of Latino voters planned to support the Democrat in their congressional district, compared with 47 percent of U...

Europe calls on China to let currency appreciate

Posted on October 05, 2010
Associated Press: "European leaders on Tuesday urged China to let its currency rise and narrow a trade deficit that has strained relations, while promising Asian countries in return more power in global financial institutions."

Dutch politician hate speech trial to resume

Posted on October 05, 2010
Associated Press: "An Amsterdam court Tuesday ordered the hate speech trial of anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders to resume, rejecting his arguments that judges are biased against him."

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