From JillStanek.com

Matt Damon rips Sarah Palin-



....Matt is dissing every person who believes in Creationism. He obviously supports evolution, backed by mainstream science....Speaking of, I myself am concerned about a man having the nuclear codes who doesn't know who is human and who is not. Obama says he is confused about basic scientific fact that unique individual humans with unique DNA are created at the fertilization of human egg and human sperm. That's breathtakingly ignorant...BTW, Palin's response to Damon? Per her spokeswoman, Maria Comella: It's not surprising that the Barack Obama and his celebrity supporters continue to tear down Governor Palin with little more than blatant name-calling," she said. "It's clear they're threatened by a candidate who actually has a record of achieving reform and change, while Barack Obama just talks about it."

3 more 1st Amendment Case Victories and other cases pending (See ExxonMobil CEO Defends High Profits and 11 Recent Religious Freedom victories (8 court victories and 3 settled out of court))

Tennessee

Teen Challenge Awarded $1M in Lawsuit-"A faith-based drug rehabilitation organization was awarded nearly $1 million after a jury found that their rights had been violated over a land dispute with a city government. A federal court in Nashville awarded Teen Challenge $967,995 after the jury found that the city government and Davidson County had violated three major sections of the law in denying permits to the organization. The city was found in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Fair Housing Act, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. The original complaint claimed that the faith-based organization was unfairly denied land use permits for a planned 13-acre residential treatment facility for young people suffering from addiction..."This is an incredible victory for Teen Challenge and for the rights of religious organizations," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which represented Teen Challenge in the case. "This jury verdict sends a powerful message that religious discrimination by government officials simply won't be tolerated. The size of the jury award also sends a message that there's a hefty price to pay for those who discriminate against religious organizations....Although Nashville has to pay damages of nearly $1 million, the city still has two $50,000 claims from former Teen Challenge members pending trial. The U.S. Department of Justice also took notice of Teen Challenge's case and earlier this year initiated an investigation into the city government's land use policies. That investigation is still pending."

New York

ADF-allied attorneys secure victory for religious speech at NY college-"“Free religious expression is not free if it is restricted to the inside of a church or home,” Wenger explained. “The court was correct to rule that Mr. Davis cannot be prevented from being on the SCCC campus and that he has a constitutional right to videotape his actions.” A copy of the court order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in Davis v. Stratton is available at https://mail.alliancedefensefund.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=601dd185d6a3442381520d0a8d3fe700&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.telladf.org%2fUserDocs%2fDavisWin.pdf."

Florida

11th Circuit orders Univ. of Florida to recognize Christian fraternity-"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ordered University of Florida officials Wednesday to stop discriminating against a Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX), while a lawsuit filed by Christian Legal Society and Alliance Defense Fund attorneys against school officials is on appeal."

Wisconsin

Wis. school district charges fees to Christian groups, not others: ADF sues-"Christian groups shouldn’t be penalized for their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. “Requiring a Christian community group to pay fees for using public school facilities while waiving fees for non-religious groups is clearly discriminatory and unconstitutional.”....A copy of the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in Open Door Church of Sun Prairie v. Sun Prairie Area School District is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/OpenDoorChurchComplaint.pdf."

Ohio

ADF: Opposing porn is free speech, not a conspiracy-"On behalf of 31 of Cincinnati’s most prominent pastors and pro-family leaders, Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Monday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the publisher of City Beat newspaper. Lightborne Publishing alleges that the pro-family leaders and others conspired to violate the publisher’s free speech rights and diminish its profits by voicing concerns about thinly-veiled ads for prostitution and other sex services. “Pro-family groups shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs, and communities shouldn’t be kept from protecting their own families and children,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. “Ironically, Lightborne Publishing is suing to deny pro-family organizations and citizens the same First Amendment rights that it is demanding for itself. Those who push sex-for-sale ads cannot silence people who exercise their constitutional right to object.”...A copy of the brief in support of the motion to dismiss the case Lightborne Publishing v. Citizens for Community Values filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Cincinnati Division is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/CCVDismissalBrief.pdf."

Minnesota

School District Sued For Discrimination Against Christian Club-"The district does not allow CEF to distribute literature and participate in school events to promote its Good News Clubs. The Boy Scouts and other patriotic and community service organizations are permitted to distribute their literature and promote their groups to the students.....By denying CEF the opportunity to participate in the literature distribution and "open house" events on an equal basis with secular groups, the district is in violation of clear legal precedent....Equal access is important for Good News Clubs, because the clubs do not grow very quickly in schools where students are unaware of the meetings."

UK

UK: Leading scientist urges teaching of creationism in schools-"Creationism should be taught in science classes as a legitimate point of view, according to the Royal Society, putting the august science body on a collision course with the Government."

Pro-Life News

Virginia

Fourth Circuit Will Rehear Partial Birth Abortion Case-"Mailee Smith reports on the Americans United Blog: In an important 6-4 decision today, the Fourth Circuit announced that it will rehear en banc a case involving the constitutionality of Virginia’s partial birth abortion ban. The original panel of three appellate judges had originally declared the statute—with provisions nearly identical to that of the Supreme Court-affirmed federal ban—unconstitutional. SCOTUS Blog also reports on the situation and links to the one paragraph 4th Circuit orderagreeing to rehear the case. The earlier ruling is here: Richmond Medical Center v. Herring. Related: 4th Circuit strikes down Va. partial birth abortion ban"

Democrats and the UN

Dems Moving to Fund UN Agency That Aids China’s One-Child Policy-"If a Democrat is elected president in November, Congress probably will resume direct funding of the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA), a program that has been supportive of China’s coercive “one child” policy, an expert told CNSNews.com on Monday. President Bush has redirected funding for the program every year since 2001."

Planned Parenthood

ERLC joins call for Bush to reverse abortion rules that assist Planned Parenthood-"The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other pro-life organizations have asked President Bush, in his final months in office, to change regulations that have enabled such organizations as Planned Parenthood to use federal funds to promote abortion as a form of family planning. For more than seven years, the Bush administration has failed to reverse rules instituted under President Clinton that removed the wall between abortion services and family planning clinics that receive Title X grants. Title X is the federal government's family planning program."...Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and 77 others told Bush in a letter the refusal to address the issue "has undermined your Administration's consistent commitment to ensure that federal funds deployed for family planning projects not be used to promote abortion as a method of family planning."They asked the president to make the changes in the Title X rules before he leaves office in January so "taxpayer funds are not used to promote and facilitate abortion." They said the mingling of abortion and family planning clinics, and their services, "sends the wrong message, defies Congressional intent and should not be allowed."Regulations issued during President Reagan's administration made clear recipients of Title X funds may not "refer for abortion or combine family planning services with abortion services," the letter said. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld those rules in a 1991 opinion.The Clinton administration, however, eliminated the pro-life protections. Under Clinton, the regulations required Title X recipients to refer clients for abortions and permitted abortion clinics and family planning centers with which they are affiliated even to use the same staff and space, according to the letter."

Canada

Canadian Doctors Group Worried Palin Example Could Pressure Some Women to Not Abort Down's Child-"U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's loving and highly-publicized acceptance of her Down's syndrome child Trig has some Canadian doctors worried that her example may lead to mothers shunning abortion after diagnosis of Down's syndrome."

Australia

Australia: Law ‘opens way to abortion rush’-"The Australian reports: “THE Brumby Government’s move to create the most liberal abortion laws of any state would lead to a rush of women from interstate seeking terminations, a minister has warned.”

Christianity

Hamas VP's Son Becomes a Christian-"A popular member of the terrorist group Hamas has apparently converted to Christianity. His name is Masab Joseph and he's the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a vice-president of Hamas. He tells the Israeli newspaper Haaretz he accepted an invitation to hear about Christianity and began studying the Bible. Besides changing his life, he has changed his surname to Joseph...."There is only one way to Paradise - the way of Jesus who sacrificed himself on the cross for all of us," he said. Joseph is bold in the proclamation of his new found faith, despite the danger to his life or the possibility of losing those he holds dear - like his father. "I hope that he'll understand this and that God will give him and my family the patience and willingness to open their eyes to Jesus and to Christianity," Joseph said. "Maybe one day, I'll be able to return to Palestine and to Ramallah together with Jesus, in the kingdom of God."

Top Hamas Leader’s Son Converts to Christianity-"“But at the moment, at least, my ambitions are only to find work, a place to live,” Yousef admits. “I have no money, I have no apartment,” said the son of the Hamas leader who left behind properties in Ramallah to find true freedom.
“I was about to become one of those homeless people [in the United States],” he confessed, “but people from the church are helping me. I'm dependent on them."

Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham)

Franklin Graham criticizes film about Billy-"Bill McKay, one of three producers on Billy: The Early Years, said he understands the reason behind Franklin Graham's statement.
"That's been his consistent concern, that our film would mistakenly be associated with the BGEA," McKay told CT. "We knew from the beginning that they had a policy about no endorsements. And I respect that policy." The film does include a disclaimer in the opening credits that it is not affiliated with the BGEA, but Franklin Graham apparently had other concerns...His official statement said that the move "lacks my father's greatest passion: to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world," but his sister begs to differ....Franklin Graham's statement also said the movie "depicts events that never happened or are greatly embellished."...The one that concerned Graham the most, said DeMoss, is a scene where Bob Jones Sr., then president of the fundamentalist Bob Jones College, yells at a young Billy that he will "never amount to anything" and that he sees "nothing ahead for you but failure!" (The scene is included in this trailer for the film.) DeMoss told The Charlotte Observer this week that Franklin Graham thought the scene "completely misrepresented Bob Jones," and that Franklin has written a letter to Bob Jones III, current president of Bob Jones University, to say that "we didn't collaborate on the film."

http://www.billytheearlyyears.com/- This is the movie Franklin Graham is somewhat unhappy about his Father Billy Graham.

Romania

Graham Stirs Romania with Festival of Hope-"More than 75, 000 people attended the crusade in person and Romanians from all over the world watched the event on the internet and on television. Franklin Graham preached the Gospel and almost 4,000 people accepted Jesus as their personal Savior."