TheScroogeReport

“I think a lot of us will go to jail. Let’s see them prosecute the first one of us for not doing that.” — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)

CNSNews.com is breaking a big one today:
U.S. Senator Says He Would Practice Civil Disobedience If Obama Repeals Abortion ‘Conscience Clause’

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who is also an OB/GYN, told CNSNews.com on Friday that many medical practitioners, including himself, will go to prison before agreeing to engage in medical practices they morally oppose, such as abortion.

Earlier that same day, the Obama administration had announced it was “reviewing” a Bush administration regulation known as the “conscience clause.” That Health and Human Services regulation protects health-care workers at federally funded institutions from having to engage in practices that violate their moral or religious beliefs. These practices include performing or referring abortions, performing sterilizations, or giving or receiving training in these practices… read more

TheScroogeReport: The First Educated Opposition to Obama

FoxNews.com: “I will do nothing against my conscience in the practice of medicine ever regardless of what any law is at any time, ” Sen. Tom Coburn told FOX News. “And I can tell you that there are a lot of physicians that feel exactly that same way across the country.”

American Family Association: Obama seeks to take away religious rights of doctors and health care providers who refuse to perform abortions. Urgent: send your e-mail to the White House today!
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Read about The Red Envelope Project

SCROOGE ALERT LEVEL: HIGH

Coach Marcus Borden of East Brunswick High School takes a knee as a player says a pregame prayer in the locker room moments before a game between East Brunswick and Woodbridge High School in 2007. (Boston Globe/Stan Grossfeld)

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a New Jersey high school football coach who wants to bow his head and kneel during prayers led by his players despite a school district policy prohibiting it.

In yet another example of today’s supposed culture of tolerance being intolerant, the AP story continues:

In an order today, the justices ended Marcus Borden’s fight against the East Brunswick school district’s policy that forbids him and other staff members from joining in student-led prayer. The federal appeals court in Philadelphia sided with the district.

The high court declined to weigh in on whether Borden’s desire to bow his head silently and “take a knee” with his football players violates the Constitution’s prohibition on government endorsement of religion. Borden says such gestures are secular.

The school district says Borden, the East Brunswick coach since 1983, had a long history of leading prayers before he was ordered to stop after complaints from some parents. The district says the issue is whether its policy is constitutional, not Borden’s actions… read more

MORE…
“It’s one thing to say a teacher can’t lead students in prayer, but a federal appeals court has ruled that a football coach can’t even bow his head while his players pray. In his Stoplight commentary, ‘No Head Shall Bow,’ Stuart Shepard throws a flag on the play.” — CitizenLink
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DIGG!

Raising Cain over city funding to preserve Mark Twain church. More separation of church and state paranoia in the military. AND the definition of marriage back in California courts.

Protests Erupt Over Mark Twain Church in Nevada

RENO, Nev. — (AP) A group that advocates separation of church and state is protesting a Nevada city’s decision to provide funding to a church that Mark Twain helped build as a fledgling writer in the 1860s.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State contends Carson City supervisors’ votes concerning the First Presbyterian Church violated the First Amendment.

City and church officials disagree, saying the money is merely going toward additional costs stemming from an agreement that paved the way for the congregation to construct a new church in return for backing off its plan to raze the original one… read
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Questions Raised Anew About Religion in Military

WASHINGTON — (NYT) Terry Bradshaw stared intently into the camera, his eyes moist, as the interviewer asked him if his faith in God had helped him through his bouts with depression.

“Oh, yeah,” answered Mr. Bradshaw, the Hall of Fame quarterback. “Well, I’m a Christian for one thing so, yeah, I’d been praying.”

The viewers of this video were military personnel who were watching an official military production dealing with depression, suicide and “the importance of faith.” … read
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Challenge to Gay Marriage Ban Reaches Calif. Court

SAN FRANCISCO — (AP) A year after the state Supreme Court entertained arguments on extending marriage to gay couples, many of the same lawyers will be back before the same justices this week arguing why California’s voter-appproved ban on same-sex marriage should stand or fall.

The passage of Proposition 8 last November changed the state constitution to prohibit gay marriage and trumped the high court’s decision as few months earlier to legalize it. But the ballot measure was appealed and the justices on Thursday are getting the final word on whether marriage is an institution that must accommodate two women or two men.

The debate will be framed by not only the gay and lesbian couples who see their struggle as the modern equivalent of prohibitions on interracial marriage, but the 7 million citizens who rejected that comparison in an $83 million election… read
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Economic Recovery Series
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