Religion & Law

Chuck Norris: ?Feds and unions: Foes to educational reform?

Posted on February 21, 2011
Chuck Norris writes at World Net Daily: "As I began to point out last week in my part 1, the U.S. public education system is flailing now more than ever, and teachers' unions are aiding and abetting its demise. Some teachers unions may indeed be fighting for some of our teachers, but they are failing our students by protecting adults at the expense of not allowing the reformation of a crippled and dying system...

Tennessee teachers fight bill to end collective bargaining

Posted on February 21, 2011
"The Republican-dominated Tennessee Senate Education Committee voted last week to deny Tennessee teachers the right to negotiate their working conditions with boards of education across the state through collective bargaining. Republicans hold the majorities in both the Senate and House...

Alaska Abortions Drop, But Teen, Tax-Funded Abortions Rise

Posted on February 21, 2011
LifeNews: "The overall number of abortions in Alaska dropped slightly in 2010, but the abortion rate among teens is rising, as is the number of abortions being paid with public funds, according to the annual report from the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics...

House budget would cut Title X entirely, block funds for health law: Obama vows veto

Posted on February 21, 2011
LifeSiteNews: "Riding nationwide Tea Party exasperation with the administration?s spending habits, House GOP members have crafted a budget bill that not only slashes spending, but powerfully throws down the gauntlet to the president?s progressive ideas on life and family issues...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Canadian Boy Won?t Lose Life Support, May Head to US for Care

Posted on February 21, 2011
LifeNews: "A Canadian boy will not lose his life support today and his parents may be able to take him to a hospital in the United States to provide appropriate medical care after a Canadian hospital sought and won a court order to remove his life support...

George Washington: Father of Our Country

Posted on February 21, 2011
FRC: By Act of Congress, this is still George Washington's Birthday. Although car dealers and shopping malls have told us over and over again it's Presidents Day, the law is clear: We are honoring today our first president, the Father of our Country. George Washington has been described as "the gentlest of Christendom's captains...

Parents sue Helena school district over sex indoctrination

Posted on February 21, 2011
Billings Gazette: "A group of parents and community members filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Helena Public School District, claiming it violated open meeting law and prevented meaningful public participation . . . At the heart of the matter is the Health Enhancement Curriculum, which the district released in June...

Bills would change Iowa?s judicial nominating system

Posted on February 21, 2011
Iowa Independent: "House Republicans have answered Branstad?s wish with House Joint Resolution 12, which would throw out the current judicial selection method and replace it with the federal system."

The case against public sector unionism

Posted on February 21, 2011
"In sum, public sector unionism lacks the economic justifications for private sector unionism. It results in significant distortions of the political process, which have real adverse consequences for the taxpayers."

Wisc. Capitol Chaos: Could Union Bill Be Passed Separately Tuesday?

Posted on February 21, 2011
Todaystmj4.com: "Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says his chamber of the Wisconsin legislature will convene to pass non-spending bills and act on appointments on Tuesday even if minority Democrats remain out of state in an effort to block a vote on Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill...

David French on the Bob Dutko Show: Anti-Christianity at UC Davis and other America?s Colleges

Posted on February 21, 2011
ADF attorney David French appeared on the Bob Dutko Show. | MP3 audio 5:36 mins | Related ADF Media

?Gender diversity on Iowa?s high court is lacking?

Posted on February 21, 2011
Des Moines Register: "Iowa will be one of only three states without a female justice on its supreme court if Gov. Terry Branstad decidees not to select the sole woman in the pool of nine finalists for the bench."

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on 0-15 losing streak

Posted on February 21, 2011
Cincinnati.com: "The Supreme Court has examined 15 rulings from the 6th Circuit since 2008 and has thrown out every one of them."

House Republicans win spending cuts after marathon funding debate

Posted on February 21, 2011
The Hill: "At 4:40 a.m., lawmakers voted 235-189 to send the so-called continuing resolution to the Senate. Not one Democrat voted for the bill that would cut at least $61 billion, from 2010 levels, in spending for federal programs and agencies."

UC-Davis Charges Christianity with Institutionalized Oppression

Posted on February 21, 2011
The New American: "The Alliance Defense Fund agreed, and filed a letter on behalf of 25 students protesting the offensive language. University officials have now retreated from the offensive language. What remains inexplicable is how such defamatory language could have survived any meaningful process of review prior to adoption in the first place...

County to settle abortion doc?s suit

Posted on February 21, 2011
Journal Gazette: "Allen County will settle a lawsuit filed by an abortion clinic claiming a county ordinance violated doctor-patient privacy laws . . . The settlement also calls for the county to pay $30,000 toward the health clinic?s legal fees. The clinic was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and the Center for Reproductive Rights; the county was defended at no cost by the Alliance Defense Fund...

WY: Senate passes HB 74, grants access to courts

Posted on February 21, 2011
Laramie Boomerang: "The Wyoming Senate passed a House bill on third reading Friday that would not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states but would give couples in civil unions access to Wyoming courts to resolve disputes. The Senate passed House Bill 74 on a 16-14 vote ...

Using Prison Chapel As Courtroom Violates Establishment Clause; But Harmless Error

Posted on February 21, 2011
Religion Clause Blog: Jones County, Texas has designated the Chapel at the French Robertson Unit of the Department of Criminal Justice as a branch courthouse. It is used for non-jury proceedings when French Roberson inmates are charged with offenses. In Lilly v...

Next Question for Tunisia: The Role of Islam in Politics

Posted on February 21, 2011
NY Times: "The Tunisian revolution that overthrew decades of authoritarian rule has entered a delicate new phase in recent days over the role of Islam in politics."

China Flexes Muscles With US As Biggest Creditor: WikiLeaks

Posted on February 21, 2011
CNBC: "As the U.S. Federal Reserve grappled with the aftershocks of financial crisis, the Chinese, like many others, suffered huge losses from their investments in American financial firms ? from Lehman Brothers to the Primary Reserve Fund, the money market fund that broke the buck...

?Ridiculously absurd? UC-Davis rescinds policy on religious discrimination that defined Christians as oppressors

Posted on February 21, 2011
California Catholic Daily: hristians deserve the same protections against religious discrimination as any other students on a public university campus,? said ADF Senior Counsel David French. ?It?s very good to see officials at UC-Davis agree. Anti-Christian discrimination is an epidemic on American university campuses, and that?s what made the UC-Davis definition ridiculously absurd...

Mont. lawmakers punt on physician-assisted suicide

Posted on February 21, 2011
AP: "Montana legislators had been asked to choose between two proposed bills in creating a physician-assisted suicide law: Ban the practice altogether or create regulations for doctors and terminally ill patients to follow. Now it appears they'll do neither ...

Wis. union head calls on teachers to go to work

Posted on February 21, 2011
AP: "The head of Wisconsin's powerful teachers' union is calling on educators to return to classrooms Monday and Tuesday rather than continue being absent to protest an anti-union bill at the state Capitol."

Wisconsin Republicans Step Up Pressure on Dems Who Fled State

Posted on February 21, 2011
Fox News: "Senate Democrats acknowledged that the 19 Republicans could pass any item that doesn't spend state money in their absence. The budget-repair bill they have been blocking requires a quorum of 20 senators to pass, while other measures require only a simple majority of the chamber's 33 members...

John Fund: What?s at Stake in Wisconsin?s Budget Battle

Posted on February 21, 2011
John Fund writes at the Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Walker's argument?that public workers shouldn't be living high off the hog at the expense of taxpayers?is being made in other states facing budget crises. But the left observed the impact of the tea party last year and seems determined to unleash a more aggressive version of its own by teaming up with union allies...

Obama Distances Himself From Planned Parenthood Sex Trafficking Scandal

Posted on February 21, 2011
LifeNews: ?So, you know, my bottom line is, that uh, I think that Planned Parenthood in the past has done good work. If there was a specific problem at this center, it should be addressed,? Obama continued.

?Report: leading Army priest says chaplains will help soldiers accept gay lifestyles?

Posted on February 21, 2011
Catholic Culture: "Army chaplains will have a major part in preparing the service to accept the lifestyles of some,? according to an Arizona newspaper?s summary of his remarks . . . "

Same sex couple denied admission to Creation Museum event for heterosexual couples

Posted on February 21, 2011
Lexington Herald-Leader: "A liberal blogger and another man who tried to go to a special event at Kentucky's Creation Museum said they were denied admission because they told security they were a same-sex couple . . . Museum spokesman Mark Looy told The Kentucky Enquirer that the promotional material for the Date Night made it clear the event was for heterosexual couples only...

Weakened protections: The Obama administration strikes elements of conscience protections for pro-life medical providers

Posted on February 21, 2011
World Mag: . . . The changes do not go as far as the administration originally intended or as conservatives feared: wiping out protections in their entirety. But, according to Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund, it ?leaves the how and if of enforcement of conscience protections completely under the discretion of an agency which says it agrees with Planned Parenthood...

Uzbekistan: Bible Society Fined

Posted on February 21, 2011
Persecution Blog: "A Tashkent judge fined the accountant of the Uzbek Bible Society 316,505 Soms ($189) for ?violating procedures? during the import of two shipments of Bibles in 2008 and 2010, according to Forum 18 News. "

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.