The Santa Rosa County School District has drafted a policy that prohibits students from asking God’s blessing during high school graduations. The policy also prohibits district employees from participating in privately sponsored off-campus religious events or baccalaureate addresses.  Moreover, faculty and staff are required to stop prayer at privately sponsored after-school clubs. The ACLU drafted the model policy, which was agreed to by the district and entered into the legal record by a federal court. Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said his group has filed a preliminary injunction to stop the order.  He said the policy violates the free […]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its final price tag for health care reform, and it’s at least $115 billion more than projected. Much of that is due to authorizations for discretionary spending put in the legislation by those drafting the bill. The Obama Administration said it would cap spending on the initiative at $1 trillion over 10 years. The new numbers will break that unofficial promise. Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee, said the president has a responsibility to his constituents to keep that promise. “If Congress were to approve all of […]

Arizona first to officially opt out of abortion coverage in health care EP News – Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law in April making Arizona the first state to opt out of the federal health care abortion mandate. The Legislature had already been working on language to keep abortion funding out of state plans. Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, said lawmakers took that language and tailored it to apply to the federal mandate. “Once Obamacare passed,” she said, “we were able to get an amendment on the bill that opts Arizona out of abortion […]

A conservative group that monitors the Culture industry is applauding Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs for his pledge to keep porn applications off the iPhone. So-called “apps,” or programs, are wildly popular and can be downloaded through Apple’s iTunes store. There’s an application for nearly everything – including News, sports, maps and restaurants – but Jobs says the store won’t offer porn. Approximately 5,000 sexually explicit applications were removed from the store early this year after the conservative Parents Television Council (PTC), urged citizens to complain to Apple. The PTC noted that children often browse the store looking for games.  Apple’s […]

  Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas each held primaries May 18.  The results were surprising and may indicate what could happen in the November elections. In Pennsylvania, long-time Sen.  Arlen Specter was defeated by Joe Sestak.    Specter left the Republican Party a year ago to become a Democrat, but the move may have backfired.  Sestak won the primary, and Specter gave maybe the shortest concession speech in history.  “It’s been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania,” Specter said.  Michael Geer with the Pennsylvania Family Institute says President Obama helped convince Specter to switch parties and Democratic leaders […]