Conservative, Christian Groups Hail Bush’s Choice for High Court

When Samuel Alito Jr. graduated from Princeton University in 1972, his yearbook said he would “eventually warm a seat on the Supreme Court.” Thirty-three years later, conservatives across the country are hoping the prediction comes true.

“We are extremely pleased by President Bush’s selection of Judge Samuel Alito, who has earned the respect of colleagues in both parties for his legal acumen and courtroom demeanor,”said Focus on the Family Action founder and chairman James C. Dobson.

The American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (CLP) also weighed in supporting Alito, citing many of his rulings while on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, including upholding a holiday creche display in New Jersey, a dissenting opinion in favor of a husband’s right to notice of his wife’s intent to abort their child, and a ruling striking a school anti-harassment policy, which would have prohibited the sharing of one’s religious faith with a homosexual.

“All the constitution requires, and what America needs, is a judge who respects the rule of law and the restraints placed upon the Court under our constitutional republic, said Steve Carmption, the CLP’s chief counsel.

The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins called the nomination “something worth fighting for.”

(EP News)

Eight Nations Targeted for Religious Freedom Violations

The State Department released its latest report on international religious freedom Nov. 8, and, for the second year in a row, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea and Vietnam made the list. Other countries singled out include Burma and North Korea.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said eight nations have been targeted for their restrictions on freedom of worship and other violations.

The worst offenders are Saudi Arabia and the People’s Republic of China, according to Joseph D’Agostino with the Population Research Institute.

“It seems clear from the report that there has not been any improvement in religious freedom in [China],” D’Agostino said. “Clearly the international community and the First World has decided to give China a free pass on human-rights abuses.”

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who a made a public appearance with persecuted Coptic Christians from Egypt, said, “In too many places, we’ve condemned it, but have not acted at a sufficient level that it drives the point home with a host country. That needs to change.”

(EP News/Pete Winn/Kim Trobee)

ADF Enters Air Force Controversy

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) believes a lawsuit filed by an Air Force Academy graduate could dramatically affect the right of military personnel to express their religious beliefs.

The group, acting on behalf of a pilot and a chaplain, hopes to persuade a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer and Air Force Academy graduate that seeks to prohibit Air Force members from trying “to involuntarily convert, pressure, exhort or persuade a fellow member of the USAF to accept their own religious beliefs while on duty.”

(EP News/Warren Smith)