News Releases: OREGON TO GET WORLD'S LARGEST WIND FARM

re: "The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) today approved a site certificate for the 909 megawatt (MW) Shepherds Flat Wind Farm. Located in Gilliam and Morrow counties, Shepherds Flat will double Oregon’s current wind operating capacity of about 889 MW.../ ...[snip]... / The project is being developed by Caithness Shepherds Flat, LLC of Sacramento, Calif., which proposes 303 wind turbines with a peak capacity of 909 MW. Caithness says Shepherds Flat will be the largest single wind farm in the world. The project area is between Highway 19 and Highway 74 on privately-owned land, about five miles southeast of Arlington. The power output of the facility would enter the Federal Columbia River Transmission System through Bonneville Power Administration’s Slatt Substation..."...

Touchstone Magazine - Mere Comments: Spiritual Alzheimers

re: "Virtue On-line has this report from England about Cardinal Ivan Dias's speech to Anglican bishops at Lambeth. warning them of Spiritual Alzheimers. Indeed: Alzheimers seems to be competing with an acquired immune deficiency syndrome in many churches to destroy Christian memory and infect the body with heresy..."...

The Dawn Patrol: Something 'WIC'-ked this way comes

re: "Visit the USDA's WIC Learning Center, the official Web site for the U.S. government's Women, Infants and Children program, and you will find a link to the home page of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. / That's because a hefty chunk of the $5 billion in taxpayer funds for the program designed to help feed and provide health care for low-income pregnant women, new moms, and young children go to Margaret Sanger's organization./ ...[snip].../ Granted, the federal money that pays Planned Parenthood to serve WIC clients technically does not go towards abortions. But any money given to Planned Parenthood by the federal government keeps the organization's lights on and its paychecks coming, enabling it to spend its $115 million surplus on expanding its abortion business. And does anyone doubt that Planned Parenthood will attempt to impress upon a pregnant WIC client that it can make her un-pregnant if she wishes? Especially when the client walking into its clinic is greeted with posters like this ..."...

hat tip: The Point

Randy Pausch, Author Of 'Last Lecture,' Dies at 47 - WSJ.com

re: "Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an international sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday..."...

hat tip: The Point

ADF Alliance Alert » Court rules to preserve life of Calif. woman deprived of food, water

re: "ADF-allied attorney successful in ensuring nutrition is restored after 11 days without food or water; trial to be held July 29..."...

ADF Alliance Alert » 10th Circuit: Colorado scholarship restrictions to students at “pervasively sectarian” schools held unconstitutional

re: "...We find the exclusion unconstitutional for two reasons: the program expressly discriminates among religions without constitutional justification, and its criteria for doing so involve unconstitutionally intrusive scrutiny of religious belief and practice. We reverse, and order that summary judgment be granted in favor of the university..."...

Global Warming Consensus Alert: Flame On! - Acton Institute PowerBlog

re: "...wouldn’t you know it - just when Gore gets his sweltering summertime platform to trumpet the need to act on the basis of the Global Warming Consensus, a big fight breaks out in a scientific organization that makes said Consensus look more like a sham than ever..."...

Challies.com: Review of "The Shack" by William P. Young

re: "...So let’s look at this book together, doing the task God requires of us when he tells us to be men and women of discernment—Christians who heed God’s admonition to “test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” We’ll simply compare what Young teaches to the Bible..."...

About the Book - Atheism Remix

re: "Something has changed in our culture. Atheism—for centuries a little-regarded belief system—has gained a large hearing through the writings of new atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. Indeed, atheism is now more culturally acceptable than ever and its proponents are more fervent. /Providing the Christian response to the new challenge to theism, Dr. Albert Mohler equips Christians to respond with Atheism Remix. Here he explores the environment that has bred the New Atheism while also introducing readers to the movement’s four leading thinkers and their arguments. With keen insight, Mohler pinpoints eight major distinctives that make the New Atheism new and helps Christians understand, challenge, and counter it..."...

ADF Alliance Alert » Atheists’ Lawsuit against Dakota Boys Ranch dismissed

re: "The AP reports: //A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the nation’s largest group of atheists and agnostics over referrals by North Dakota government agencies to a church-affiliated nonprofit that treats and educates troubled children. /U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland said the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and five North Dakota taxpayers who are members of the group have no right to sue..."...

Privately published Christian novel a surprise best-seller: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.

re: "...It is the most compelling recent example of how word-of-mouth can create a phenomenal blockbuster. /It was originally published late last spring as a paperback by two former pastors near Los Angeles, who knew the author and set up a company expressly to publish “The Shack.” The manuscript already had been turned down by a number of mainstream and Christian publishers. A little more than a year later, on June 8, the book debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times paperback fiction best-seller list. It has stayed there ever since..."...

hat tip: Rick Dancer

Mixed bag on the Betancourt coverage » GetReligion

re: "...Anyway, if you had been held hostage for six years, what would you do upon your release? Betancourt thanked God repeatedly, knelt and prayed as soon as she hit solid ground, showed off the rosary she’d made during her captivity and talked about how her faith helped sustain her during her horrific time with the terrorists. It must have made the media uncomfortable to hear her speak so much about the Virgin Mary, angels, miracles and God because even though she was being quite blatant about it, most early reports ignored it or glossed over it..."...

Doctors vote against ‘pro-life register’ | The Christian Institute

re: "A national doctors’ conference has rejected a proposal to force GPs to make their views on abortion known to patients. /The plan could have forced doctors with conscientious objections to abortion to publicise their views, so that women seeking terminations would be unlikely to see them. /Leading pro-abortion campaigner Dr Evan Harris MP tabled the motion at the conference of the British Medical Association. /However, delegates at the conference voted against his proposals. /It is thought that around one in five doctors will not sign abortion referral forms. One Christian doctor, Tammie Downes, was recently cleared of any wrong-doing, after accusations were made that she had broken guidelines by discussing alternative options with women seeking abortion. /Recent research by the Christian Medical Fellowship suggests that in countries where the law requires women seeking terminations to have counselling or a ‘cooling-off’ period, the abortion rate is significantly lower than countries where it is available ‘on demand’."...

ADF Alliance Alert » UK: Victory for Christian registrar who refused to carry out same-sex ceremonies

re: "The Times Online reports: //A Christian registrar who was harassed and discriminated against after she refused to carry out same-sex civil partnership ceremonies has won a key legal battle . . . The decision outraged gay rights campaigners, who said that it “sanctions the right of religious people to discriminate”. //The Christian Institute offers more coverage and links to the ruling..."...

Change we should worry about (OneNewsNow.com)

re: Star Parker: "...What's going on is not an ideological crack-up but a branding crack-up. Rejection of the Republican Party today is not a rejection of limited government and traditional values. It is a rejection of what the Republican Party morphed into. / The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has remained true to its principles of big government and moral relativism. And it's not registering more enthusiasm among voters. / It just doesn't take rocket science or an expensive political consultant to appreciate that voters are, for darned good reason, unhappy..."...

Canada to send American deserters back home (OneNewsNow.com)

re: "A Pentagon advisor says he's encouraged by the recent decision by the Conservative Canadian government to send American deserters back to the U.S. for possible court-martial and dishonorable discharge..."...

The Point: Time to lose the s-word

re: "I've gotten good and sick of the term swift boating being used to mean lying. It's inaccurate and unfair. And finally, someone is calling for it to stop..."...

Alaska Governor Discusses Congressional Energy Inaction - Acton Institute PowerBlog

re: Ray Nothstine: "Following up on my commentary “Washington’s Unpopular War on Energy,” Alaska Governor Sarah Palin talks about her own frustration with Washington energy policies in an interview with Investor’s Business Daily. Governor Palin is of course in favor of drilling for more oil in Alaska, and she believes development can be done in a safe and clean manner..."...

Cafe Hayek: Incentives, incentives

re: "Justin Bowen comments at EconTalk and points readers to an analysis of special education showing the power of incentives. Forster and Greene argue (see here, here and here) that in states where there is a per pupil subsidy to kids with disabilities, schools in such states find a lot more disabilities. I am not surprised..."...

Baptist Press - Big Bang on the Bayou

re: Ken Connor: "LEESBURG, Va. (BP)--Secularists have exploded over the passage of the "Louisiana Science and Education Act." / The bill recently was signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal after having been passed by an overwhelming majority of the Louisiana legislature. According to its text it protects the freedom of "teachers, principals, and other school administrators" in elementary and secondary schools to promote "critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of a variety of scientific theories including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning." / In other words, the act provides for the freedom and support of teachers and school boards to present varied analyses on these and other scientific issues. So why are the denizens of blogs like the Huffington Post in such a huff? Because "science" is their "truth," and it is blasphemous to question their beliefs. / Secularists are unwilling to have their orthodoxy challenged. Just as Galileo had to fight against the church and government of his day, those who dare to question today's "settled" theories are banished by scientific and political Inquisitors..."...

Bishops: What "Achievements" of Morgentaler's are Being Recognized?

re: "OTTAWA, July 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop James Wingle of St. Catharines and Archbishop Raymond Roussin of Vancouver have spoken out strongly against the decision to grant Dr. Henry Morgentaler the Order of Canada, both asking why Canada is honouring a man who has caused so much harm among so many Canadians. /Given the fact that the Order of Canada is meant to recognize "a lifetime of outstanding achievement," Bishop Wingle asked, "What outstanding achievement or service has Henry Morgentaler contributed to the betterment of Canada?" /Morgentaler has boasted that he has performed over 100,000 abortions, many carried out before 1988 when Canadian law deemed the practice illegal - thereby making him a criminal. The abortionist's efforts also led to the removal of all the legal protections in Canada for the unborn. Are these the "achievements," asks Bishop Wingle, that have led to his bestowal with an award officially described as "the centerpiece of Canada's honours system"? /
The bishop then accused the Order of Canada committee's decision of showing blatant disregard for the values of millions of Canadian: "The firm conviction of millions of Canadians that human life is sacred at every stage of its existence evidently means nothing to those responsible for the Order of Canada." /
In the face of this decision, that has so severely divided Canadians, Bishop Wingle issued a rallying cry to the ranks of those who fight for the culture of life..."...

Brazilian Judge: Catholic Priest's Book Denouncing Witchcraft Must be Removed from Bookstores

re: "BAHIA, BRAZIL, July 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A judge in the state of Bahia, Brazil, has ordered the confiscation of a book written by Catholic priest Jonas Abib, in which he condemns witchcraft as immoral. /The book, "Yes, Yes! No, No! Reflections on Healing and Liberation," warns readers against the dangers of the occult, which includes the "Afro-Brazilian" religions known as "spiritualism." According to Fr. Abib's website, the book has gone through 81 printings and has sold over 400,000 copies. /...[snip]... / The ruling follows other actions that have been taken against Christians in Brazil for publicly expressing their views regarding forms of behavior that are currently favored by the political establishment. The Evangelical Protestant organization National Vision for a Christian Conscience (VINACC) was censored by a judge last year when it initiated a campaign to affirm natural heterosexual marriage and condemn homosexual behavior... /Federal Deputy Miguel Martini denounced the latest ruling on the floor of the nation's Camber of Deputies (the lower legislative house), and expressed his concern that Brazil is beginning to censor the beliefs of Christians..."...

FIRST THINGS: On the Square » Understanding the Third Reich and Other Great Evils

re: Richard John Neushaus: "...During the Third Reich, ordinary Germans “had many more things on their minds.” That’s a chilling phrase. We might easily say, and many do all too easily say, that during the era of slavery or during current horrors such as the genocide in Sudan or the daily killing of thousands of unborn children in the abortuaries around the country, most ordinary Americans “had many more things on their minds.” That’s a moralistic cheap shot. The truth is that we all have many more things on our minds, and necessarily so. Such as families, jobs, dealing with sickness, and warding off despair. Not to mention, for many, the distinctly unnecessary hours every day spent surfing and chatting on the blogosphere. /The Third Reich is rightly viewed as an icon of evil. This does not mean, as Ian Kershaw reminds us, that the ordinary Germans of the time are the icon of moral indifference or complicity in great evil. Then it was the Jews, the Slavs, and the gypsies. At other times, it is another class of human beings. Given the requisite mix of circumstances, which is not beyond imagination, it is an idle conceit to think that ordinary Americans would behave more nobly than did the Germans of Hitler’s day. Among any people of any time, moral courage is the exception and not the rule. There are heroes and heroines who contend against the great evils of their time, but even they must be selective. You may be devoting your life to helping the people of Sudan, but what are you doing to help prisoners of conscience in China, or to stop international sex trafficking, or to feed the hungry of Zimbabwe, or to relieve the loneliness of old people in the nursing home within an easy drive from your home? The list goes on and on..."...

FIRST THINGS: On the Square » Blog Archive » The Human Experience

re: Amanda Shaw: "...But even a truism—especially a truism—can give pause when coming from the mouth of a leper patient, a homeless woman, an HIV/AIDS victim. The physically, mentally, and spiritually battered—from the concrete jungle of Brooklyn to the mud huts of Ghana—don’t rattle off these sentiments in a spirit of blasé piety or feel-goodism. “If he wakes me up today, God has something he wants me to do,” says a man dying from AIDS, and, while his legs barely support his body, strength of spirit radiates through his eyes. It pierces the audience, which is precisely the goal of Grassroots Film’s latest documentary, The Human Experience. /...[snip]... / In The Human Experience (to be released sometime in 2008), we’re brought to the images and sounds of the cardboard-box communities of some of New York’s homeless, to a home for disabled and abused children in Peru, to a leper colony in Africa—places that everyone knows exist, but few will ever encounter closely and personally. / ...[snip]... / These experiences can be heartwarming and even humorous..."...

ADF Alliance Alert » Florida Court: Homelessness alone is not grounds to remove child from parents

re: "The Miami Herald reports: “A three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeal, in an opinion reversing a ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Valerie R. Manno Schurr, said being homeless is not sufficient cause to take children from their parents.” /M.B. v. Dept. of Children and Family Service, No. 3D08-1364 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. July 2, 2008)."

ADF Alliance Alert » ADF attorney available to discuss disenfranchisement of Oregonians after 9th Circuit hearing

re: "PORTLAND, Ore. — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks will be available for media interviews immediately following oral arguments Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Lemons v. Bradbury. ADF attorneys are appealing a ruling by a federal judge that denied Oregon voters the opportunity to vote on a new law which some Oregon voters believe runs counter to the state’s 2004 Marriage Protection Amendment. /“Oregon voters deserve to be heard on this referendum. More than enough Oregonians signed it. The people didn’t thwart this effort; government bureaucracy did–and that’s not a good reason to toss aside one of the most important rights Americans have,” said Nimocks. /On Feb. 1, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Monson lifted his preliminary injunction against a new law, H.B. 2007, that provides all the rights of marriage to unmarried, same-sex couples who register with the state. ADF attorneys filed suit on behalf of several Oregonians after the Secretary of State and several different county clerks wrongfully rejected valid signatures on a petition to place a referendum on the ballot which would allow voters to express their will on the new law. /During a hearing, the judge stated that voters in Oregon have no legal right to have their petition signatures counted. ADF appealed that ruling to the 9th Circuit (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4417). /A fact sheet is available on the lawsuit at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/LemonsFactSheet.pdf."

Baptist Press - Stroke victim's case recalls Schiavo controversy - News with a Christian Perspective

re: "..."We know that she's sick. I don't want anyone to think, 'They're just delusional,'" Tatro-Manes said. "We know that every minute that we have with her is a blessing from God. It's borrowed time. We know that. But there is no way that we can just sit by and allow my sister -- or my mother allow her daughter -- to be starved to death at the hands of a man that she's married to. A higher sense of order has to kick in at some point." / ...[snip]... / Karen Weber's competency is the question, said Joseph Rodowicz, an attorney affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund who is representing Weber's mother. "Does she understand what's going on and can she communicate her medical issues as to what she wants to do. Does she want to go to hospice? And we have several instances where she has indicated she does not want to go to hospice," he said. "We submit that life support measures, which is really just a feeding tube and nutrition, shouldn't be removed." / ...[snip]... /Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo's brother and host of America's Lifeline, an AM radio program in Tampa, Fla., told the Witness this case is a good example of what happens all around America every day. / "The disabled like Karen are being killed every day and the only time we hear about it is when family members object, as in this case, as in Terri's case," Schindler said. "The whole notion that feeding tubes are now considered medical treatment is unacceptable. And we're seeing what's happening because of the law. People with disabilities are potentially in harm's way of being killed, because food and water, which should be basic care, is now being defined as medical treatment." / Sympathetic to those who are facing deathbed decisions, Schindler bristles at the notion that he is too harsh in characterizing such measures as active euthanasia." /You are killing someone by taking their food and water away," Schindler said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't die. How else would you describe it if you are taking away her food and water?"..."...

ADF Alliance Alert » ADF files suit disputing N.M. commission’s ruling against Christian photographer

re: "ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit in state court Tuesday to appeal a ruling by the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission against an Albuquerque photography company. The commission ruled that the company, run by a Christian husband and wife, was guilty of “sexual orientation” discrimination under state antidiscrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex “commitment ceremony.” /“Christians in the marketplace should not be penalized for abiding by their beliefs anymore than anyone else should,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence. “The Constitution prohibits the state from forcing unwilling people to promote a message they disagree with and thereby violate their conscience. The commission’s decision demonstrated stunning disregard for our client’s First Amendment rights.” /A same-sex couple asked Elaine Huguenin, co-owner with her husband, Jon Huguenin, of Elane Photography in Albuquerque, to photograph a “commitment ceremony” that the two women wanted to hold in Taos. Neither marriage nor civil unions are legal between members of the same sex in New Mexico. /Elaine Huguenin declined because her and her husband’s Christian beliefs are in conflict with the message communicated by the ceremony. The same-sex couple filed a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Commission, accusing Elane Photography of discrimination based on sexual orientation. The commission held a one-day trial in January and then issued an order in April finding that Elane Photography engaged in “sexual orientation” discrimination prohibited under state law, ordering it to pay $6,637.94 in attorneys’ fees to the two women who filed the complaint (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4467). /“The government cannot make people choose between their faith and their livelihood,” said Lorence. “Could the government force a vegetarian videographer to create a commercial for the new butcher shop in town? American business owners do not surrender their constitutional rights at the marketplace gate.” /A copy of the appeal filed with the 2nd Judicial District Court, County of Bernalillo, in Elane Photography v. Willock is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/ElanePhotoAppeal.pdf."

Townhall.com: Hugh Hewitt: Michelle Obama's address...

re: "Michelle Obama's speech last week was a completely candid and heartfelt declaration of Barack Obama true feelings on the subject of same sex marriage: He's for it. He is for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and against the California Marriage Amendment which would reverse the ruling of the California Supreme Court of last month and restore the definition of marriage limiting the institution to one man and one woman. / Now this is a clear and significant divide between the two candidates, and not just on the issue of marriage, but also on the role of the courts. If Obama is elected and he leads majorities in the House and Senate to repeal DOMA, eight judges in two states --California and Massachusetts-- will have reversed 3,000 years of law and culture in the West. / This is one more reason why it is quite obvious that Barack Obama is the most radical presidential nominee of a major party in American history. I hope the McCain campaign and 527s simply put the facts before voters on this issue and do not allow the scorn of cultural elites who see no downside to such judicial imperialism mandating such radical changes deter them from publicizing the simple fact, attested to by Michelle Obama with perfect clarity, that Obama supports the imposition of same sex marriage from coast-to-coast..."... [The post then proceeds to excerpts and audio from Michelle Obama's speech]...