News

$17,000 tax bill hits South Dakota church

Press Release
5 Aug 2010
no comments

As cash-strapped cities and municipalities try to find creative ways to generate revenue, some are setting a dangerous precedent when they look to churches as a targeted source. Joe Infranco, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), has seen a marked increase in the number of cases handled by ADF’s 1,800 allied attorneys, who represent churches free of charge. “Whether out of ignorance or malice, (municipalities) are slowly chipping away at the Church’s tax exemption when and where they are able,” said Infranco. “This is a very dangerous trend.” Just this week, an ADF-allied attorney filed an appeal in […]

-Read More

Supreme Court pick may be sidelined

Press Release
no comments

As solicitor general, Elena Kagan has taken sides on a number of issues, which may exclude her from initial decisions as a Supreme Court justice. As the person chosen by President Obama to represent the interests of the U.S. before the high court, she would, as a justice, find herself called upon to offer an opinion on cases she was directly involved in.If confirmed, Kagan would likely have to recuse herself from 11 out of 24 cases, including a racketeering lawsuit against tobacco companies and a suit involving detainees at Guantanamo Bay.Stuart Roth, senior counsel at the American Center for […]

-Read More

Florida governor Charlie Crist vetoes pro-life bill

Press Release
no comments

Governor Charlie Crist vetoed an ultrasound bill in June that would have allowed abortion-minded women in Florida the chance to see an image of their preborn child. HB 1143 would have also banned taxpayer funding of abortions. This is the fourth time an ultrasound bill has been defeated. More than 63,000 people contacted the governor’s office in the days leading up to the veto, with 36,104 of them asking him to please sign the measure. John Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council, said the move speaks volumes about Crist’s duplicity and lack of trustworthiness. “He […]

-Read More

Back room deals on DISCLOSE Act threaten First Amendment rights

Press Release
no comments

H.R. 5175 is an attempt by Democrats to overturn a recent Supreme Court decision that found portions of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law to be unconstitutional.  If passed, the bill would negatively affect grassroots organizations that inform voters on ballot issues. Many groups had stood in opposition to the bill, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), which fears it would be muzzled by the new measure. Reports from Capitol Hill reveal the NRA has struck a deal with lawmakers to exclude the organization from compliance, along with certain corporations. Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst with CitizenLink, said the Democrats’ move […]

-Read More

Hawaii governor vetoes civil union bill

Press Release
no comments

In a highly anticipated announcement, Hawaii’s Governor Linda Lingle vetoed the civil union bill, as the definition of a union it contains was too similar to that of marriage.  The law would have allowed gay and lesbian-identified couples the same rights and privileges of married couples. In her veto message, Lingle stated that an issue as contentious as this should not be up to one person to decide. The liberal blog, Huffington Post, had promoted this decision as “mission critical,” so this announcement was a devastating blow to gay activists. They immediately called for a boycott.  Twenty-two legislators broke into […]

-Read More

RI governor’s veto on redefining hate crimes

Press Release
no comments

On June 30, Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri vetoed a bill designed to expand the state’s definition of a hate crime to include “gender identity” and “gender expression.” The governor said the state’s existing law already addresses actions “motivated by racial, religious, sexual orientation, gender, and disability prejudice;” therefore, the measure was not required.  Caleb H. Price, an analyst for CitizenLink, commended Carcieri for seeing beyond Current Events and for understanding the long-term implications not only for marriage, but also for those struggling with gender confusion. “Those who struggle with gender confusion,” Price said, “deserve our compassion and understanding–not laws […]

-Read More

White House scrambles to clarify funding of abortions in PA

Press Release
no comments

  The Obama Administration scrambled into “clarification” mode following a revelation that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) approved $160 million in taxpayer funds going to Pennsylvania that could be used to fund abortions.  In a speech to a joint session of Congress last September, President Obama made the following promise, “Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.” Attempting to assuage fears, HHS responded with a statement on July 14, saying the president’s executive order would prevent taxpayer-funded abortion in Pennsylvania, as well as in other states. However, Mary Harned, staff counsel with […]

-Read More

U.S. appears in human trafficking report

Press Release
no comments

The growing crisis of human trafficking received greater visibility on June 14 when the U.S. State Department included the U.S. in its 10th annual “Trafficking in Persons” (TIP)  Report. The U.S. is ranked as a “Tier I” country, meaning it fully complies with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards. The report provides an in-depth analysis of over 177 countries and reprimands 13 countries, including Iran, North Korea, Burma, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and others for not meeting minimum international standards on human trafficking. Interestingly, the report coincides with the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa, where human rights […]

-Read More

Baylor students study orphan care in Africa

Kristine Davis
no comments

  A Kenyan girl sits with her baby doll in hand, smile on her face, changing the doll’s clothes and doing its hair. Minutes later, she places the baby doll into the arms of another child – with no protests of possession, no sense of selfishness. Faith-based organizations working in Africa are turning to the unselfish arms of family as an alternative to orphanages, believing families offer a more effective way to aid the millions of orphans on the continent who have lost parents to AIDS and other deadly fates. Baylor University professor Jon Singletary recently led a team of […]

-Read More

Get off to a great start

The Good News
no comments

My favorite toy as a child was my race car set.  It had a race track with a groove down the middle of each lane.  Once you learned how to keep your car in that groove, those little cars would fly around that track.  The secret to winning was to get the car properly in the groove at the start of the race and keep it there.  If you were sloppy about getting your car in that groove, it didn’t make it around the first turn without flying off the track.The same is true for the start of a school […]

-Read More