Religion & Law

Paper apologizes for depicting Muslims at prayer on 9/11 anniversary

Posted on September 16, 2010
Guardian: "A US newspaper published an apology for running a front page story and picture depicting Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan on September 11, the ninth anniversary of the World Trade Centre attacks. Within a day of the Portland Press Herald publishing the picture of people praying at the end of the Muslim holy month, the paper's editor felt compelled to respond to complaints from people who said they were offended...

?Top 100? churches list released amid some criticism

Posted on September 16, 2010
Christian Post: "The annual Outreach 100 list of the largest and fastest-growing churches in America is out but absent from the list is a number of megachurches that were documented in previous years."

Transgender candidate runs in Oklahoma

Posted on September 16, 2010
CNN: "Changing American social attitudes have meant that many Americans are no longer surprised when a gay or transgendered candidate runs for public office in liberal cities like San Francisco or Boston. But what about the bible belt? We weren?t sure, so we flew to the politically red state of Oklahoma to check out the state house race between the transgender Democratic candidate, Brittany Novotny, and the socially conservative Republican incumbent, Sally Kern...

OH: Pro-life activist says Dems banned her pamphlets

Posted on September 16, 2010
Sandusky Register: "Mary Ann Chimera, the state president of Democrats for Life of Ohio, contends the Erie County Democratic Women banned her from distributing pamphlets at their events, including the group's annual picnic that draws a big crowd every August...

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Abortion groups praise newly named head of UN Women?s agency

Posted on September 16, 2010
C-FAM: "The appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as Under Secretary General of UN Women has garnered praise from several abortion advocacy groups. "

Spain: Discotheque to change its name after Muslim protests

Posted on September 16, 2010
Times of India: "A Spanish discotheque called Mecca which has angered Muslims will change its name, a Muslim representative said on Thursday in the southern city of Murcia."

Tea Party politics and Christianity: Strange bedfellows?

Posted on September 16, 2010
ReligionLink: "The differences have sparked an intense debate about the identity of the Tea Party movement, the role and influence of Christian conservatives in politics today, and what the conservatism of the future will look like. This edition of ReligionLink provides background on the debate, which seems likely to persist throughout the fall campaign and perhaps after the November midterm elections...

Senators question experience of 2nd Circuit nominee

Posted on September 16, 2010
Law.com: "Federal judicial nominee Susan Carney told senators at her confirmation hearing Wednesday that she's qualified to serve on an appeals court, despite not having argued before one. Carney, the deputy general counsel at Yale University, was nominated by President Barack Obama in May to serve on the 2nd U...

US cartoonist who inspired ?Draw Mohammed Page? in hiding

Posted on September 16, 2010
AFP: "An American cartoonist whose satirical work inspired the controversial 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Page' on Facebook has gone into hiding, the newspaper which published her comics said Wednesday. Molly Norris, of Seattle, Washington, has moved and changed her name following a call for her assassination by US-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, The Seattle Weekly said...

Polish memorial cross quietly removed from square

Posted on September 16, 2010
The State: "Polish officials quietly moved on Thursday a makeshift memorial cross honoring the late President Lech Kaczynski to the presidential palace chapel, in an attempt to end a lengthy dispute that divided the nation . . . "

Student?s body modification religion questioned after nose piercing controversy

Posted on September 16, 2010
ABC: "Ariana, 14-year-old freshman, wears her nose ring as a religious symbol. She and her mother are members of the young, but incorporated Church of Body Modification, which viewes piercings, tattoos, among other rituals, as a way to spiritually strengthen the connection between body, mind and soul...

Senate breaks filibuster to pass long-stalled small-business bill

Posted on September 16, 2010
The Hill: "The Senate voted on Thursday to pass small-business legislation that President Obama and Democratic leaders made a high priority but became bogged down in partisan fighting. The Senate voted 61-38 to end a Republican filibuster of the bill, which would give small businesses $12 billion in tax cuts...

TN: 6th District candidate Carter asks Pelosi to step aside as Speaker

Posted on September 16, 2010
Tennesean.com: "Democratic District 6 Congressional candidate Brett Carter is asking U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to step aside for the good of Democratic candidates."

?Breyer makes case for Justices? adherence to Constitution?

Posted on September 16, 2010
Jess Bravin writing in The Wall Street Journal: "Justice Breyer, during a conversation in the chambers he keeps at the federal courthouse here, sought to tamp down criticism from some on the left that conservatives led by Chief Justice John Roberts are on an ideological mission to roll back individual rights, while showing 'tea-party groups' and others on the right why liberal-leaning justices like him believe they are keeping faith with the framers...

Islamists claim responsibility for Russian bombing

Posted on September 16, 2010
Associated Press: "A Chechen Islamist rebel group has claimed responsibility for last week's suicide car bombing in Russia's volatile North Caucasus that left 18 dead and 140 wounded."

Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran ? Even ACLU Supports the Protester!

Posted on September 16, 2010
Family Security Matters: "The rights of all Americans are in jeopardy! So says the American Civil Liberties Union which has come to the defense of a New Jersey state worker who was fired for putting a match to pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero in midtown Manhattan ...

Ottawa: Women sue over sperm mixup

Posted on September 16, 2010
UPI: "Jacquelin Slinn and Trudy Moore have filed separate lawsuits seeking damages from Dr. Norman Barwin for providing different donor sperm than the ones they chose, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday."

Nebraska coach Ron Brown won?t change message because of ACLU warning

Posted on September 16, 2010
Sioux City Journal (AP): "Nebraska assistant coach Ron Brown says he's not going to change the message he shares with students after ACLU Nebraska raised concerns about its religious elements."

Ugandan Ethics Minister to porn dealers: ?Your days are numbered?

Posted on September 16, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The Ugandan government has announced a new legislative initiative to widen the definition of pornography and to eliminate its distribution from the country."

Washington Times: States tell Obama to take a hike

Posted on September 16, 2010
Washington Times editorial: "States across the country want Washington to stop meddling in their affairs when it comes to the environment, health care and guns, and it's not just right-wingers leading the charge. Last week, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal fired a shot at the Environmental Protection Agency for its attempt to coerce the state into regulating carbon dioxide as if this naturally occurring gas were a pollutant...

How to influence the Vatican: A pro-life insider?s perspective

Posted on September 16, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Many pro-life advocates coming to Rome, especially those from North America with its strong democratic tradition, believe that meeting with Curial officials is the equivalent to lobbying congressmen or MPs. But in Rome, [Joseph Meaney, Director of International Coordination for Human Life International (HLI)] said, pounding on desks is almost sure to backfire...

Stacked panel to tell Congress to fund more embryonic stem cell research

Posted on September 16, 2010
LifeNews: "A stacked panel will tell members of the Senate on Thursday that Congress should green light more funding for embryonic stem cell research and should overturn the federal law a judge has cited in his decision to temporarily halt government funding authorized under President Barack Obama's executive order...

Census: 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty

Posted on September 16, 2010
Washington Post: "The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office...

Is the judicial takings issue headed back to the Supreme Court?

Posted on September 16, 2010
Ilya Somin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "Just three months ago, in the Stop the Beach Renewal case, the Supreme Court split 4?4 over the question of whether a decision by a state court could violate constitutional property rights in a way that amounts to a 'taking' requiring compensation under the Fifth Amendment...

America exposed to ?stealth jihad? threat, security report warns

Posted on September 16, 2010
Fox News: "The report, sponsored by the Center for Security Policy and touted by a handful of conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday, said that the violent threat posed by Al Qaeda and other terror groups is outmatched by the threat from jihadists allegedly trying to change American society from within...

IVF growing in popularity in Australia, New Zealand: study

Posted on September 16, 2010
Sydney Morning Herald: "The number of IVF procedures performed in Australia and New Zealand has almost doubled in the four years between 2004 and 2008, a new study has revealed."

Ramesh Ponnuru: Don?t count out the social issues

Posted on September 16, 2010
Ramesh Ponnuru writing at Politico: "The Republican primaries suggest that while, of course, economic issues are at the top of most people?s minds, conservative voters still care a great deal about social issues . . . The presidential wing of the party seems to be moving right rather than left on social issues...

D.C. Circuit to hear stem cell case Sept. 27

Posted on September 16, 2010
Blog of LegalTimes: "A federal appeals court in Washington will hear oral argument Sept. 27 in the government's challenge of a preliminary injunction that blocks funding for human embryonic stem cell research."

American Indian church sues feds over peyote use

Posted on September 16, 2010
Daily Herald (AP): : "An American Indian church is suing state and federal police and prosecutors over the right of its members to use peyote in religious ceremonies, even if they aren't of Indian ancestry." Complaint in Oklevueha Native American Church v...

MA: Wellesley schools apologize for letting students pray at Islamic mosque

Posted on September 16, 2010
Wicked Local (The Wellesley Townsman): "Wellesley?s superintendent of schools apologized today after Wellesley middle school students were allowed to pray at an Islamic mosque during a May field trip."

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