Declares ‘no problem’ forcing taxpayers with religious, moral conflict By Aaron Klein © 2009 WorldNetDaily The government should be required to fund abortion in cases such as rape or incest, argues President Obama’s newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein. “I have argued that the Constitution … forbids government from refusing to pay the expenses of... Continue Reading

Lisa Snyder’s home is right in front of the bus stop — one reason why she offered to watch neighborhood children during the minutes before the school bus arrived. That simple act prompted a warning from the state: Continue and she would be running an illegal day care, violating state law. On Tuesday, the governor... Continue Reading

By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman ACORN, identified by the Associated Press as “a scandal-tainted” community organizing group that has been denied federal funding by the U.S. Congress, has received multiple grants from agencies of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The ACORN acronym stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. A 2008 grants... Continue Reading

By David Brooks, New York Times Centuries ago, historians came up with a classic theory to explain the rise and decline of nations. The theory was that great nations start out tough-minded and energetic. Toughness and energy lead to wealth and power. Wealth and power lead to affluence and luxury. Affluence and luxury lead to... Continue Reading

No meat rule is OK, required martial arts sparring and not appearing nude, not so much. New York Law Journal September 29, 2009 Exploring the parameters of a statute that protects the right of inmates to freely exercise their religion, a federal appeals court has ruled that a prisoner who founded a religion that requires... Continue Reading

By RACHEL ZOLL (AP) NEW YORK — Organized religion was already in trouble before the fall of 2008. Denominations were stagnating or shrinking, and congregations across faith groups were fretting about their finances. The Great Recession made things worse. It’s further drained the financial resources of many congregations, seminaries and religious day schools. Some congregations... Continue Reading

AFGHANISTAN: While healthcare reform dominates D.C. these days, politicians face serious questions about raising troop levels | Emily Belz WASHINGTON—The Taliban is growing in power in certain Afghan cities like Kandahar, the results of the recent presidential election are in question, corruption is overwhelming efforts at good governance, and the chairman of the U.S. Joint... Continue Reading

Study finds faithful can’t agree on Bible, government’s role, social responsibility The commonly referenced “God gap” between Republicans and Democrats is disappearing. Polls released before the 2008 election demonstrated America’s Christian voters are no longer synonymous with the political right: a George Barna survey showed born-again Christians evenly split between John McCain and Barack Obama,... Continue Reading

By Niall O’Dowd A new survey shows 34 million Americans, or 15 percent of the population, say they have no religion. Even more significant is that one-third of those, about 11 million people, are Irish Americans. The survey by professors at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, does not explain why Irish Catholics are by far... Continue Reading

POLITICS: Republican politicians at this past weekend’s Values Voter Summit stick to singing the same tune | Edward Lee Pitts WASHINGTON—For the second weekend in a row, thousands of the nation’s conservatives are invading what they now call enemy territory: Washington, D.C. And just like at last week’s protest march on the U.S. Capitol, for... Continue Reading