By Martin Surridge – On Tuesday I returned from one of the most beautiful and enchanting countries in Southeast Asia–Thailand–a country known for its spicy cuisine, tropical mountainous rainforests, marvelous Buddhist temples, and the cosmopolitan city of Bangkok. But there’s much more to Thailand than the glossy posters in the travel agent’s window. …
Obama Administration Changes Its Approach to the Defense of Marriage Act
During the brief window between the California Supreme Court’s decision finding a ban on same-sex marriage in violation of the California Constitution on May 15, 2008 and the ballot-initiative amending said constitution on November 5, 2008, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer got married.
While same-sex marriages during this window period have been recognized in California since they were presumably “constitutional,” the newlyweds filed a case against the federal government in state court that was transferred upon motion of the federal government into federal court alleging that “the refusal of all states and jurisdictions” to recognize the validity of their marriage resulted in the denial of their marriage status by other states, and federal rights and benefits that other married couples received so long as they were of the opposite sex.
Advanced Citizenship: The Cost of Free Speech in America
By Jason Hines – One of my favorite movies is “The American President,” (1995) starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening. It is the story of a widowed president who falls in love with a liberal lobbyist. He struggles to navigate his relationship with her while also doing his job as the President. It’s a good…
New book addresses Conscientious Objection in today’s military
Since its organization in 1863 the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been counter cultural. In its Christian witness to modern society it has advocated keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, vegetarianism, abstinence from tobacco and alcohol and refusal of its members to bear arms. But the stance on the refusal to bear arms has seen a metamorphous in…
The End of the Community Action Program?
By Monte Sahlin – One of the items on the hit list of the new majority in the House of Representatives to “balance the budget” is the Community Action Program (CAP) or what is currently labeled Community Service Block Grants. This is a program begun in the 1960s in the Lyndon Johnson administration. It is…
Ten Commandments’ return to Va. school district depends on legal battle’s outcome
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/23/AR2011022306539.html
Health plan
Whether you are choosing your very first e-cigarette or you already vape and are looking to upgrade your kit, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the various types of vape kit available. We’ve broken these down into the three main types of device below, with information on how they’re constructed, who they are…
Europe’s Bishops Urge Defence of Religious Freedom
http://www.zenit.org/article-31807?l=english
VIDEO: President Obama on Church and State
Obama on Church and State Obama explains the importance of church-state separation in a variety of ways. What it comes down to is; In a diverse democratic society, any proposed policy must justify itself via the benefits we ALL see, rather than via arguments that only hold true to people who have one certain religious…
Secularism isn’t the same everywhere: Three models in Europe highlight various church-state relations (ANN)
23 Feb 2011, Berne, Switzerland Corrado Cozzi (Reprinted from Adventist News Network) Understanding three models of church-state relations in Europe is a key first step in addressing issues of religious freedom here. As recently as a decade ago, religion in the West was considered to be facing extinction. Now more than ever, matters of religious…