SCOTUS Throws out $135,000 Fine Against Christian Bakers in Gay Wedding Cake Case

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The Supreme Court refused to take up a high-profile religious liberty case involving a family of Christian bakers on Monday and instead sent it back to the lower courts for further consideration in light of the high court’s ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case.

The case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, whose Oregon bakery became a major focal point of the national debate about religious liberty and the LGBT movement, has been remanded to the Oregon Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court also tossed out the Court of Appeals’ previous decision to uphold a $135,000 fine against the couple because of their refusal to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony in 2013 by making a cake for it.

Those standing behind the Kleins are chalking up Monday’s Supreme Court order as a big win.

“This is a victory for Aaron and Melissa Klein and for religious liberty for all Americans,” said First Liberty president, CEO and chief counsel Kelly Shackelford, whose organization is representing the Kleins along with Boyden Gray & Associates, in an emailed statement. “The Constitution protects speech, popular or not, from condemnation by the government. The message from the Court is clear, government hostility toward religious Americans will not be tolerated.”

The case is to be re-evaluated in light of the Supreme Court’s June 2018 narrow decision in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which reversed a decision by the Colorado Court of appeals in a similar religious liberty case.

However, since and despite the 2018 ruling, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips has been sued multiple times for alleged discrimination. Earlier this year, the state of Colorado dropped a lawsuit it brought against Phillips for refusing to bake a cake for a gender transition just weeks after last year’s ruling. Last week, the same transgender individual behind the previous lawsuit sued Phillips for allegedly refusing to sell a birthday cake; an attorney representing Phillips dismissed the claim as “yet another desperate attempt to harass” the baker. (For more from the author of “SCOTUS Throws out $135,000 Fine Against Christian Bakers in Gay Wedding Cake Case” please click HERE)

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101-Year-Old World War II Veteran Receives More Than 5,000 Birthday Cards

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The Associated Press reports that 101-year-old World War II veteran John Frey was humbled and astonished after he received more than 5,000 cards from appreciative strangers for his recent birthday.

Frey’s family put out a request for cards in a local newspaper. The ad went viral and the family was expecting 500 cards at the absolute maximum, but instead received 10 times that amount. “The cards came from all 50 states and at least 12 countries. Entire classrooms of children, military veterans and Utah’s elected officials wanted to wish the former mechanic/machinist for the U.S. Army a happy birthday,” the AP reports.

“These have been overfilled with letters and packages and everything for him,” Jeanne Waters, the front desk receptionist at the Mervyn Sharp Bennion Central Utah Veterans Home where Frey lives, said of two tubs she had to request from the Post Office to accommodate all the mail. “It’s been fun. It really has.”

As reported by WTOP, “Frey celebrated with family and friends last week at the at home. His daughter Janice Carlson helped him use a letter opener to open one envelope including a sea shell and a note,” she added. (Read more from “101-Year-Old World War II Veteran Receives More Than 5,000 Birthday Cards” HERE)

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Planned Parenthood Builds Clinic in Alabama Despite Pro-Life Law

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By AP. Planned Parenthood is building the stage for another possible fight over abortion in Alabama: a large women’s clinic that’s under construction despite the state’s passage of a near-total ban on abortions.

Located beside an interstate highway in downtown Birmingham, the 10,000-square-foot structure is now nothing but a steel frame and roof. Workers under the constant watch of security guards appear to be installing electrical wiring, plus heating and cooling units.

The new facility could be complete around November, which is the same time the new state law will take effect unless blocked by courts. Abortion critics vow to oppose the opening, but a spokeswoman for the women’s health organization said neither the new law nor opponents were a factor in the project. (Read more from “Planned Parenthood Builds Clinic in Alabama Despite Pro-Life Law” HERE)

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Liberty Vittert: Why Can’t Planned Parenthood Just Tell Us How Many Abortions It Provides?

By Fox News. Whether you are pro-life, pro-choice, anywhere in between, or extreme, there is a continued and serious issue with the reporting methods of Planned Parenthood (PP) that allows for serious misconceptions to be exploited on both sides of the debate. . .

Let’s take a closer look using only data from Planned Parenthood’s own 2017-2018 Annual Report.

The 94 percent assertion comes from taking the total number of abortions performed in a year by PP (332,757) and dividing it by the total number of services PP provides that Hatch and Johnson deem “pregnancy services” (prenatal services, adoption referrals, and abortions) totaling 344,646 services. Using this terminology, actually 96.6 percent of the pregnancy services provided by PP are abortions.

But in no way is that the real truth: this calculation completely ignores the over 9 million other services PP provides per year and paints a very unfair (or rather, downright wrong) picture of the work of Planned Parenthood. . .

This number comes from taking the total number of abortions performed by PP in a year and dividing that by the total number of services provided by Planned Parenthood in a year (including cancer screenings, pregnancy tests, STI testing/treatment, contraception, and even services to men) which is over 9.6 million. Using this terminology, Planned Parenthood is able to say that only 3.4 percent of the services they perform are abortions. (Read more from “Liberty Vittert: Why Can’t Planned Parenthood Just Tell Us How Many Abortions It Provides?” HERE)

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Thirteen White Police Officers Sue City for Racial Discrimination

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Thirteen white police officers are suing the City of San Francisco for alleged discrimination due to their race and refusing to give them promotions in favor of minority candidates. . .

The lawsuit challenges a “test-scoring method that the city adopted in 1979 in response to a lawsuit from a group representing black and female officers, who alleged discrimination in hiring and promotions,” according to Time Magazine.

Time Magazine also reports that Mullanax argued before the court, “In 2016, the department promoted three black sergeants, even though their scores were lower than those of 11 white candidates who were denied promotions.”

The police department defended its methods. John Coté, a spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Police Department “uses lawful, merit-based civil service examinations in making promotions. The method is “designed to provide qualified individuals with the chance for advancement while ensuring fair treatment without regard to race, gender, religion, age or other status.” . . .

In 2003, a similar lawsuit was settled on behalf of a group of white police officers for a whopping $1.6 million doled out by the city. (Read more from “Thirteen White Police Officers Sue City for Racial Discrimination” HERE)

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In This State, Minors Need Parental Permission for Ibuprofen, but Not for an Abortion

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The Republican governor of Vermont signed legislation this week which makes it legal for minors to obtain an abortion without parental consent. Vermont law also allows non-physicians, including registered nurse practitioners, to perform abortions. To put in perspective how radical the state’s abortion standards are, consider that parents have to give their child written or verbal permission to obtain so much as an ibuprofen pill from the school nurse, but do not have to approve of their daughter’s obtaining a life-altering decision like abortion under GOP Gov. Phil Scott’s new law. . .

The bill does not include an age limit on which individuals can obtain an abortion. In fact, while the bill was going through the state legislature, several representatives tried adding amendments which would have specified that those under 18-years-old would need permission from their parents and legal guardians before obtaining an abortion. . .

The final version of the bill which Gov. Scott signed did not include any provisions about notification of a minor’s parent before that child received an abortion. Yet, according to HealthVermont.gov, students under the age of 18 need permission from parents to take prescribed and non-prescribed medicine on school grounds under state law.

The primary reason for requiring parental permission for headache medicine, according to the Vermont Department of Health/Agency of Education is to “assure that medications administered to students are done so in a way that assures safety and compliance with state law and school policies and procedures. (Read more from “In This State, Minors Need Parental Permission for Ibuprofen, but Not for an Abortion” HERE)

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New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Vaccine Mandates

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On Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed a bill into law that will immediately end religious exemptions for vaccine mandates.

Cuomo said he signed the bill in order to protect the public in the midst of one of the worst measles outbreak in decades, which he categorized as a “public health crisis,” reported CBS New York.

The outbreak first sparked in October, the outlet noted, and spread in parts of New York City, particularly among Orthodox Jewish communities.

“Rockland County declared a countywide State of Emergency relating to the ongoing measles outbreak,” reported NBC in March. “Effective at the stroke of midnight, Wednesday, anyone who is under 18 years of age and unvaccinated against the measles will be barred from public places until this declaration expires in 30 days or until they receive the MMR vaccination.”

With the passing of the law, parents will be forced to vaccinate their children before they can attend school in the state, and religious exemptions won’t get them out of it. Parents and teens have morally objected to certain vaccines based upon ties to abortion. Now, the only acceptable exemptions from the mandate will be for medical reasons, such as a child’s weakened immune system. (Read more from “New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Vaccine Mandates” HERE)

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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Lets Stand $195,000 Fine Against Anti-Abortion Activist Who Exposed Alleged Fetal Tissue Sales

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals let stand a $195,000 fine against an anti-abortion activist and his lawyers last week, Courthouse News reported. . .

Anti-abortion activist David Daleiden — who recorded undercover videos exposing alleged fetal tissue trafficking by Planned Parenthood — appealed the fine, but the three-judge Ninth Circuit panel dismissed it, saying it doesn’t have jurisdiction to review the findings until the case’s final judgment is reached, the outlet said.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick III in 2016 granted the National Abortion Federation’s request to block the release of videos, citing the safety and privacy of abortion providers, Courthouse News said. But in 2017 Daleiden’s criminal defense lawyers Steve Cooley and Brentford Ferreira posted links to the videos and abortion providers’ names on their website — all of which were presented as evidence to support Daleiden defense, the outlet said.

But Orrick ruled the latter actions violated his injunction against further disclosure and ordered Daleiden and his lawyers to pay $195,000 to the National Abortion Federation to cover legal fees and costs for added security due to the videos’ release, Courthouse News said. . .

Orrick said he reviewed hundreds of hours of videos and found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the abortionists, Courthouse News said, adding that the judge said Daleiden misleadingly edited videos to make it appear as though abortion providers were breaking the law.

(Read more from “Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Lets Stand $195,000 Fine Against Anti-Abortion Activist Who Exposed Alleged Fetal Tissue Sales” HERE)

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State Legalizes Assisted Suicide

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Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed the Maine Death with Dignity Act on Wednesday, making the state the 10th jurisdiction to legalize assisted suicide.

When she inked the legislation, Gov. Mills brought Maine into line with Oregon, which was the first state to legalize the practice of physicians prescribing lethal medicines for patients to use to kill themselves.

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Washington, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia have passed similar laws in recent years. The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the practice, although there is no state law on the books explicitly allowing it.

Portland, Maine Bishop Robert Deeley said in a statement that the bill “legalizes a practice which has devastating effects on the common good. Suicide is always a tragedy.” Saying that it is a sad day for Maine, the bishop said that young people will now think “that people can and should be disposable.”

“The legislature and Governor Janet Mills failed the people of Maine. Assisted suicide is a dangerous public policy that puts the most vulnerable people in society at risk for abuse, coercion[,] and mistakes,” said Matt Valliere, Executive Director of Patients Rights Action Fund. “It also provides profit-driven insurance companies perverse incentives to offer a quick death, rather than costly continuing quality care. Mainers, especially the terminally ill, people with disabilities, and the poor, deserve better.” (Read more from “State Legalizes Assisted Suicide” HERE)

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‘The View’ Host Fantasizes About Trump Dying

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By Breitbart. Wednesday on ABC’s “The View,” the panel discussed rumors about 2020 presidential hopeful, former Vice President Joe Biden’s health.

Co-host Meghan McCain said, “There’s a lot of things I really hate about primary politics, but one of them is health conspiracies. I hate it, it happened with my father, it happened with Michele Bachmann.”

She continued, “It happened obviously to Hillary Clinton, it’s now happening to Joe Biden, I think it’s the lowest common denominator, dirtiest form of politics. I think I’m both sides we should stop it, I think it’s disgusting. It’s actually hurtful, can be very harmful to families in that position.”

She added, “The implication that he’s slow or whatever, that’s dog-whistles about his health, and I think here and now we have to put an end to that because I really think it’s really bad for the country, and I think it’s just the lowest form of garbage.”

Co-host Joy Behar said, “Especially since he’s one cheeseburger away from keeling over himself.” (Read more from “‘The View’ Host Fantasizes About Trump Dying” HERE)

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Joy Behar: Curing Cancer ‘Much More Difficult’ Without Fixing Climate Change

By Fox News. Add cancer to the long list of things that progressives say are a result of climate change.

During Wednesday’s “The View,” co-host Joy Behar warned that without attempts to halt climate change and pollution, it would be very difficult to cure cancer.

“I would say that curing cancer is going to be much more difficult when there’s so much climate change and pollutants in the environment,” she said.

The discussion moved on before Behar could explain the statement. (Read more from “Joy Behar: Curing Cancer ‘Much More Difficult’ Without Fixing Climate Change” HERE)

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U.S. Town Declares Itself a ‘Sanctuary City’ — for Unborn Babies

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By The Blaze. The five member city council of Waskom, Texas, has declared the small town a “sanctuary city,” but not for illegal aliens, for unborn children.

The vote took place before a packed house and was unanimously in favor of banning abortion and declaring pro-choice laws to be unconstitutional.

The ordinance says pro-abortion laws are “unconstitutional usurpations of judicial power, which violate both the Tenth Amendment the Republican Form of Government Clause, and are null and void in the City of Waskom.”

Mark Lee Dickson, the East Texas Director of Right to Life, told WETK-TV that the vote was in response to the “fetal heartbeat bill” in Louisiana.

“So we decided to take things into our own hands, and that we have got to do something to protect our cities, and to protect the unborn children,” said Dickson. (Read more from “U.S. Town Declares Itself a ‘Sanctuary City’ — for Unborn Babies” HERE)

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Waskom Unanimously Declares Itself a ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn’

By East Texas Matters. . .The ordinance was approved unanimously at a city council meeting Tuesday night before a packed house.

The ordinance declares Roe vs. Wade and other laws permitting abortion “to be unconstitutional usurpations of judicial power, which violate both the Tenth Amendment the Republican Form of Government Clause, and are null and void in the City of Waskom.”

Mark Lee Dickson, director of the anti-abortion group East Texas Right to Life, said the declaration was a response to Louisiana’s passage of a so-called “fetal heartbeat bill” banning abortion once a fetus’ heartbeat is detected.

Should that bill shut down abortion clinics in Louisiana, Dickson said, he doesn’t want any to open in Waskom. . .

Those behind the declaration say it’s all in an effort to make it to the Supreme Court in a challenge to Roe vs. Wade and win. (Read more from “Waskom Unanimously Declares Itself a ‘Sanctuary City for the Unborn'” HERE)

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