Religion & Law

Samuel Gregg: Fiat money and public debt

Posted on September 10, 2010
Samuel Gregg, Research Director at the Acton Institute, writing at Public Discourse: "[O]ne of the Great Recession?s unexpected benefits is the manner in which it has reignited a range of economic debates that have needed attention for some time. One is a widespread questioning of the methods and priorities of mainstream economic science...

Harvard?s endowment rises 11 percent to $27.4B

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "Harvard University says its endowment has seen a dramatic reversal of fortunes, earning a profit of 11 percent and growing to $27.4 billion in the last fiscal year."

Pa. mosque opens peacefully near synagogue, church

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "A new mosque recently opened in this well-to-do suburb of Philadelphia, but not many people noticed. That was fine with leaders of the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge. Amid a tense national climate for U.S. Muslims, they did not seek publicity for the happy occasion, only continued peace with their neighbors: a Jewish synagogue next door and Baptist church across the street...

Feds say AZ violates rights of English learners

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "Federal investigators say the state is violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act by shortchanging thousands of students whose first language is not English."

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?Gay group counters Target money?

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "A Democratic-backed political fund, a Minnesota gay rights organization and Democratic candidates will split a $150,000 donation as part of a push to elect gay marriage supporters in the state, after Target Corp. donated the same amount to a Republican-friendly group...

Health plans respond to Obama administration?s warning on premiums

Posted on September 10, 2010
The Hill: "The main health insurance lobby reacted strongly Thursday afternoon after the Obama administration called on health plans to stop 'misinformation and scare tactics' about the healthcare reform law . . . Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned: 'I want AHIP?s members to be put on notice: the Administration, in partnership with states, will not tolerate unjustified rate hikes in the name of consumer protections...

FRC statement on court decision overturning the law on open homosexuality in the military

Posted on September 10, 2010
Family Research Council: "[Family Research Council President Tony Perkins]: 'It is hard to believe that a District Court level judge in California knows more about what impacts military readiness than the service chiefs who are all on the record saying the law on homosexuality in the military should not be changed...

NYPD ?army? to keep peace at opposing 9/11 rallies near mosque

Posted on September 10, 2010
New York Post: "The NYPD has called up 'an army of cops' to handle rival protests expected to draw thousands to the site of the planned Ground Zero mosque on the anniversary of 9/11, sources said yesterday. 'We want to keep everyone in their corners. You don't want the opposing sides to clash,' an NYPD official told The Post...

TN: Springfield pastor plans to burn Koran

Posted on September 10, 2010
NewsChannel5.com: "'To the Muslim church I would say the reason I am doing on Saturday because I believe they worship a false god. They have a false text, a false prophet and a false scripture,' said [Springfield Pastor Bob Old]."

?Footballers? call girls are the result of sexualised society?

Posted on September 10, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Britain?s sexualised society has caused two middle-class girls to become call girls and sell their bodies to football stars, a children?s author says. Bel Mooney, writing in the Daily Mail, attacked popular culture that promotes female promiscuity as ?empowerment? and perpetuates the ?happy hooker? myth...

Accused abortionist transported women in scheme to evade state laws

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "Dr. Steven Brigham is accused of using a novel scheme to take advantage of disparities in state abortion laws. Since he wasn't allowed to perform late-term abortions at his New Jersey office, documents show he led patients in a caravan to Elkton, Md...

Court delays ban on federal funds for US stem cell work

Posted on September 10, 2010
BBC: "The court in Washington placed a temporary stay on an earlier decision by US District Judge Royce Lamberth . . . The legal action, which was also backed by Christian groups including the Alliance Defense Fund, is against the National Institutes of Health (NIH)...

Federal stem cell funding is temporarily back on track

Posted on September 10, 2010
Wall Street Journal Law Blog: "[Steven H. Aden], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, criticized Thursday?s ruling. 'The American people should not be forced to pay for even one more day of experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate an existing federal law,' Aden told the AP...

Scientists are optimistic as Appeals Court lifts injunction against stem-cell research

Posted on September 10, 2010
The Chronicle of Higher Education: "The federal government can continue to finance embryonic-stem-cell research, temporarily, because a federal appeals court on Thursday lifted an injunction that had blocked such work. The move added to optimism about eventual victory for university scientists who use this research in a search for cures for a range of devastating diseases ...

ERLC interns gain cultural insight

Posted on September 10, 2010
Shannon Baker reports at Baptist Press: "College and seminary students interested in cultural issues from a biblical perspective have the opportunity to be involved in initiatives that impact millions of people through the Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention ...

George Soros vs. judicial elections: Stripping people of power, giving lawyers control of courts

Posted on September 10, 2010
This campaign is being orchestrated and funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI), the political arm of billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros. According to a study released this week by the American Justice Partnership, OSI has spent at least $45...

Obama again speaks up for ?Ground Zero mosque?

Posted on September 10, 2010
"[I]f you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site."

Judge stops contribution limits in Kentucky school board races

Posted on September 10, 2010
Evansville Courier & Press (AP): "A federal judge on Friday suspended a law limiting campaign contributions in Kentucky school board races to $100, making candidates in those races eligible for the $1,000 cap from individual contributors allowed in other races...

Marriage out of vogue, kids out of wedlock in Bulgaria

Posted on September 10, 2010
Sofia News Agency: "While wedding bells may be ringing daily in Cyprus, in Bulgaria it is more a case of 'I don't', where marriage rates are the second lowest in the Europe Union at 3.6%, Eurostat figures show."

?MEPs call for Europe-wide recognition of gay relationships?

Posted on September 10, 2010
Pink News: "Members of the European Parliament have called for action to ensure gay couples in marriages and civil partnerships are recognised across the continent. While EU member states are required to simplify entry and residence for couples in recognised relationships and the directive does not mention gender, it does not require states to explicitly demand that countries must recognise gay couples in marriages or civil partnerships...

Suit threatens Planned Parenthood funds

Posted on September 10, 2010
Fox News / Live Shots: "Two former Planned Parenthood employees-turned-whistleblowers have made stunning allegations regarding the abortion provider's accounting practices. In a case now pending in federal court P. Victor Gonzalez alleges that he saw millions in fraudulent overbilling to state and federal governments when he worked as Chief Financial Officer for Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles ...

The quickly unraveling clerkship market

Posted on September 10, 2010
Concurring Opinions: "It?s not surprising, but it is a little sad, to report that the judicial clerkship hiring plan is on its last legs. The plan, as you may recall, organized hiring of clerks by prohibiting schools from sending materials before a certain date (the day after Labor day) and asking judges not to call to schedule and then hold interviews for a week and change (this year, September 13 and 16th, respectively) ...

Report: US must deal with homegrown Islamic radical problem

Posted on September 10, 2010
CNSNews: "The U.S. was slow to take seriously the threat posed by homegrown radicals and the government has failed to put systems in place to deal with the growing phenomenon, according to a new report compiled by the former heads of the Sept. 11 Commission...

Dutch politician Geert Wilders heads to ground zero

Posted on September 10, 2010
". . . Wilders is part of a globalizing anti-Islamic creed that seeks to portray itself as a reasonable emerging voice, his critics say."

DADT ruling could spur Senate to act

Posted on September 10, 2010
"The ruling puts pressure on the Pentagon and Congress to consider a swift repeal, but advocates worry that lawmakers such as Sen. John McCain will fight hard to keep it on the books."

Why Afghanistan has reacted so sharply to threat of Koran burning

Posted on September 10, 2010
The Christian Science Monitor: "In Kabul, parliamentary candidates have put up signs vowing retaliation against the US if Korans are burned and in at least two provinces, anti-American protesters have been shot outside NATO compounds. In one northeastern province, an Afghan National Army outpost was almost overrun and a protest in Kabul earlier this week included stone-throwing at US humvees ...

Atheist billboard provokes Oklahoman Christians

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "Atheists in Oklahoma City have erected a billboard seeking fellow non-believers, and Satanists have scheduled a conference in a city-owned building, drawing criticism from ministers in a state where more than 8 out of 10 people say they are Christians...

Dems could lose 8 Empire State seats in US House

Posted on September 10, 2010
Associated Press: "For all the Democrats' strength and swagger in New York, the party could lose as many as eight U.S. House seats in the Empire State alone in November."

1st Circuit asked to consider whether ?under God? is political or religious

Posted on September 10, 2010
Law.com: "The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on Thursday about whether a New Hampshire statute that requires school districts to provide time for public elementary students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance on a voluntary basis is constitutional...

Heritage Foundation: A defense of the elected judiciary

Posted on September 10, 2010
Deborah O'Malley writing at The Heritage Foundation: "The assault against elected judges has entered a new and more dangerous phase: Millions of dollars are being poured into efforts to promote 'merit' selection of state judges, a system in which unelected, unaccountable experts and special interests recommend for appointment?and in some cases select?judges as a way to combat politicization...

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