Religion & Law

Dane County, Wis. to update adult entertainment law

Posted on September 21, 2010
Wisconsin State Journal: "Dane County has agreed to allow an adult entertainment club in the town of Middleton to provide nude dancing, but a County Board proposal would make it more difficult for similar clubs to open in rural areas."

Islam?s tentacles enveloping U.S.

Posted on September 21, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "There are more than 3,000 mosques in the U.S., and work is being done on several major projects that have neighbors alarmed to the point of resistance . . . American Family Association policy analyst Bryan Fischer says 80 percent of the mosques being built are funded by Middle Eastern money...

Most US Marines opposed to lifting DADT: general

Posted on September 21, 2010
"A Pentagon survey has shown US Marines are 'predominantly' opposed to lifting a ban on gays serving openly in the military, a top general said Tuesday. General James Amos, nominated to lead the US Marine Corps, revealed the survey results to lawmakers as the US Senate weighed whether to end the ban...

4 in 5 Americans say students should be able to pray at school events

Posted on September 21, 2010
The Christian Post: "Overall, 80 percent of those who responded to a poll by the First Amendment Center said they think student speakers should be able to give a public prayer. Also, the majority (59 percent) of those who said they do not practice religion support allowing student speakers to pray at school events...

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U.S. co-sponsors high-level panel on LGBT rights at UN in Geneva

Posted on September 21, 2010
U.S. Department of State: "The United States joined Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, East Timor, Finland, France, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Slovenia in sponsoring a high-level panel discussion 'Ending Violence and Criminal Sanctions on the Basis of Sexual Orientation' on September 17 at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva...

VA: Changes to adult business law recommended in Wythe County

Posted on September 21, 2010
SWVA Today: "Proposed changes to the ordinance include requiring the business owner to have a security system installed by a specialist licensed by the Department of Criminal Justice and giving written consent for law enforcement officers to inspect at anytime the entire building where the business is located...

Australian court: Man tried to force girlfriend?s abortion

Posted on September 21, 2010
Brisbane Times: "A reluctant father violently tried to cause his partner's miscarriage because he feared they could not afford another baby, a court heard yesterday. A Brisbane District Court jury heard Tyrone Phillip Strong, 30, said 'I'm going to kill this baby' as he violently pushed his hands on Kylie Long's abdomen, two days after he learned she was pregnant with her fourth child...

TX: Travis County Commissioners Court turns down pro-lifers

Posted on September 21, 2010
Statesman.com / Salud: "Travis County residents, religious organizations and others took their fight against using public money for abortions to the Travis County Commissioners Court Tuesday, but the court did not relent. The commissioners gave final approval to the $109...

Title V: Majority of states choose healthy sexuality

Posted on September 21, 2010
CitizenLink: "The majority of state governors ? three out of every five ? applied for Title V money to support abstinence-centered programs in their states. The deadline to apply for Title V block grants to teach abstinence education was August 30, 2010...

Minister: ?Schools in Poland may refuse to employ homosexuals?

Posted on September 21, 2010
Der Standard [modified Google translation]: "[I]n an interview in the Catholic weekly 'gosc Niedzielny', [The Polish Minister for Equality, Elzbieta Radziszewska] declared that a lesbian . . . could not take [a Catholic school] to court if [the school] did not want to employ them...

Nigeria: 2 die in targeted Muslim sect slayings

Posted on September 21, 2010
Nigeria (AP): "A police commissioner says members of a radical Muslim sect killed two people in northern Nigeria, the latest motorcycle slayings by the group."

Berlin issues guidelines on integrating Muslim pupils in schools

Posted on September 21, 2010
Reuters: "Berlin?s Ministry for Education, Science and Research has just published a guide called 'Islam and School' giving practical advice on how to resolve these issues and encourage 'people to live together respectfully and peacefully', which you can find in German here...

Largest union in Calif. endorses pot legalization

Posted on September 21, 2010
Associated Press: "A ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California won the support Tuesday of the largest union in the state. The 700,000-member Service Employees International Union California has 15 locals representing workers in health care, building services and state and local government...

Secretary of State PR machine working overtime in wake of Drudge coverage of $50M cookstove fiasco

Posted on September 21, 2010
This morning the Drudge Report carried this headline:  HILLARY TO GIVE UN $50 MILLION FROM US TAXPAYERS — FOR COOKING STOVES. Throughout the day, the Secretary of state has issued the following: -09/21/10  Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves: The United States Commitment By the Numbers; Office of the Spokesman; Washington, DC -09/21/10  Remarks on Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves at the [...

Islam?s encounters with America

Posted on September 20, 2010
Fouad Ajami writing in The Wall Street Journal: "The truth is that the trajectory of Islam in America (and Europe for that matter) is at variance with the play of things in Islam's main habitat. A survey by Elaph, the most respected electronic daily in the Arab world, gave a decided edge to those who objected to the building of this mosque?58% saw it as a project of folly ...

Civil unions bill author wins race in Hawaii

Posted on September 20, 2010
Honolulu Star-Advertiser: "State Rep. Blake Oshiro, the main author of the civil unions bill that passed the Legislature before being vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle this year, defeated outgoing City Councilman Gary Okino last night for the state House 33rd District (Halawa-Aiea)...

?Public schools? should not mean ?atheist schools?

Posted on September 20, 2010
"So, why should religious parents be forced to pay more (or get less) than those parents who want an atheistic or agnostic faith-based education for their children? Who gave atheists and agnostics control of the public purse strings? Answer: no one."

Regent U. Law Symposium: ?Slavery in America Today: Domestic Sex Trafficking, Child Exploitation, and the Silence of Our Culture?

Posted on September 20, 2010
Regent University Law Review invites you to its Oct. 8-9, 2010 Symposium, “Slavery in America Today: Domestic Sex Trafficking, Child Exploitation, and the Silence of Our Culture.” This Symposium, with keynote speaker former Congresswoman Linda Smith, President of Shared Hope International, and panelists including  Dr...

Active-Duty JAG Officer Opposing DADT Repeal

Posted on September 20, 2010
So why do I write this? I believe the U.S. military?s longstanding position that homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service, dating back to the Continental Army2 and codified since 1993 at 10 U.S.C. § 654, is correct and must be maintained...

Spain: ?Valencia gay male couple told they cannot register as parents of twins?

Posted on September 20, 2010
Typically Spanish: "The judge in First Instance Court 15 in Valencia has decided to annul the entry made in the Consular Civil Registry in Los Angeles, by a Spanish gay male married couple who were registered as the parents of twins. The twins were born legally in the United States by a surrogate mother...

Kids as young as age 5 going ?transgender?? What should schools do?

Posted on September 20, 2010
"Although mental-health experts disagree on whether people should make such a dramatic transition at a young age, children as young as 5 are doing it. They're changing their names, insisting on a new pronoun and altering their appearance with new clothes and hairstyles ...

Same-sex ?marriage? coming to the Netherlands Antilles

Posted on September 20, 2010
On Top Magazine: "Three former Dutch colonies are preparing to introduce gay marriage and adoption laws as they come under direct Dutch rule, Radio Netherlands reported . . . The islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatitus are expected to adopt Dutch law ...

ADF-allied attorney secures damages judgment for Bulgarian church abused by government

Posted on September 20, 2010
Church compensated 50K euros after property, legal standing stripped by government for not conforming to ruling socialist ideology

Global ?internet treaty? proposed

Posted on September 20, 2010
Telegraph: "The proposal was presented at the Internet Governance Forum in Lithuania last week, and outlined 12 'principles of internet governance', including a commitment from countries to sustain the technological foundations that underpin the web?s infrastructure ...

Can Stephen Breyer save the Obama agenda in the Supreme Court?

Posted on September 20, 2010
Jeffrey Toobin writing at The New Yorker: "If the Court had remained basically the same as the one Breyer joined in 1994, he might well have served out his tenure in genial anonymity . . . But his new colleagues and their allies are different from the conservatives who dominated the Court during the Rehnquist years...

In book, more of Breyer?s dissents on originalism

Posted on September 20, 2010
Washington Post: "'The court should reject approaches to interpreting the Constitution that consider the document's scope and application as fixed at the moment of framing,' Breyer writes. 'Rather, the court should regard the Constitution as containing unwavering values that must be applied flexibly to ever-changing circumstances...

Mexico newspaper begs drug lords to spare reporters

Posted on September 20, 2010
Reuters: "A Mexican newspaper on the U.S. border begged violent drug cartels for guidance on how to cover news in a way that would keep gangs from killing more journalists."

Swedish far-right wins first seats in parliament in immigration backlash

Posted on September 20, 2010
BBC News: "The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats have won 20 of the 349 seats in the country's single assembly, following Sunday's general election."

Tajikistan says militants were behind attack on troops

Posted on September 20, 2010
The New York Times: "The government of Tajikistan on Monday blamed Islamist militants, some with ties to Afghanistan and Pakistan, for an assault on a military convoy in Tajikistan that killed at least 23 soldiers over the weekend. The Tajik government has long voiced concern about the rise of Islamic militancy in the impoverished, mostly Muslim country, which shares a large border with Afghanistan...

Senate votes Tuesday on bill allowing abortions at military base hospitals

Posted on September 20, 2010
LifeNews: "The Senate is slated to vote this week on the Department of Defense Authorization bill, which includes a provision to allow abortions on military base hospitals both domestically and abroad. The Senate will vote on a motion filed by pro-abortion Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid...

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