OUR COLUMNISTS (Click on photos for archives) Republicans, Quit Whining Commentary by Matt Friedeman Get over it, cultural conservatives. Don't be surprised that you might be judged by a higher standard by those to whom you are selling your vision of the world. Where Have All the Christians Gone? Commentary by Joe Murray Christians have retreated from politics to the subculture and divided amongst themselves. Christians have not remained united in this cultural battle, but have resorted to bickering and infighting -- and in the process have divided our churches and diluted our votes. Technically Speaking Commentary by Jane Jimenez Eleanor Smeal in her October Ms. Magazine declares an intent to deal with abortion openly and honestly. She misses her mark. It's not the first time ... and most likely ... will not be the last. Choose Your Treasure Commentary by Brad Locke Man places high value in accomplishments, especially athletic ones it seems; it's what he lives for. That's why man finds the past so valuable, because the present is so fleeting. Visiting An 'Old-fashioned Woodshed' Commentary by Mark Creech Children need to be taught a healthy fear (reverential respect and awe) for God and authority figures in life. No one can better administer these lessons than parents.

...On Wednesday afternoon, the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down its ruling in an appeal involving seven homosexual couples who say the state constitution permits them to "marry." The court has ruled that same-sex couples indeed are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples -- but gave state lawmakers 180 days to determine if the state will honor homosexual "marriage" or some other form of civil union and to rewrite state marriage laws accordingly. New Jersey is one of only five states that has neither a law or constitutional amendment blocking homosexual marriage. It also does not have a law that bars out-of-state couples from marrying in New Jersey if they are prevented from doing so in their home state. That fact, states the New York Times, means New Jersey could become "the nation's gay wedding chapel." [Jody Brown]

...The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that publicly funded, privately operated charter schools are constitutional. In a 4-3 ruling on Wednesday, the state's high court upheld the legislature's ability to create and to give money to such schools. The decision is a blow to groups such as teachers unions and the Ohio PTA, which have fought against the public funding of charter schools for several years. [Fred Jackson]

...The Minuteman Project says it wants to blow the lid off what it describes as a major cover-up at the White House. The volunteer organization says it has obtained documents that show government bureaucrats are engaged in collaborative relations with Mexico and Canada to form a "North American super-state." The Minutemen says they have obtained about 1,000 documents through the Freedom of Information Act that reveal White House bureaucrats are up to no good. Group spokesman Dr. Jerome Corsi says they are conspiring to form a "shadow government." Those documents, says Corsi, "show that hundreds of bureaucrats in our executive branch are sending e-mails to and having meetings with their counterparts in the Mexican government and the Canadian government, and they've formed a shadow government." Corsi says U.S. administrative laws are being rewritten in several areas to fit inot a North American structure similar to that of the European Union. But he says four congressmen have introduced a resolution designed to derail the process. "Congressmen [Virgil] Goode in Virginia, [Tom] Tancredo [Colorado], Ron Paul [Texas], and Walter Jones in North Carolina, [are pushing] to have the House vote not to fund NAFTA superhighways and not to create a North American union," says the Minuteman spoksman. "We're going to support that resolution and try to bring it forth in the 110th Congress." Corsi believes the quiet effort to establish a North American union is a serious threat to America's sovereignty. [Chad Groening]

...The Bush administration is giving public schools more discretion to teach boys and girls separately. The move comes at a time when boys are lagging behind their female counterparts in reading and writing, and when some observers argue many American classrooms have become "feminized." The U.S. Department of Education has announced amendments to Title IX regulations that will allow "additional flexibility" for single-sex classes, extracurricular activities, and schools at the elementary and secondary level. The new regulations will go into effect November 24. Assistant secretary of civil rights at the Education Department, Stephanie Monroe, says educational research on single-sex schools is ongoing and has yielded mixed results. "Research shows that in certain circumstances, single-sex education can offer benefits to students who have an opportunity to participate in those classes," she says. Monroe says the new regulations prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and require "specific and rigorous justification" for any schools that intend to offer single-sex options to parents. [Jim Brown]

...Most of the mainstream media is ignoring the final debate in the contest for U.S. Senate seat currently held by Connecticut Democrat-turned-Independent Joe Lieberman. When challenger Ned Lamont defeated the incumbent Lieberman in the state's Democratic primary, major national media outlets declared the outcome a predictor of the November elections and a condemnation of President Bush's implementation of the war on terror. Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the Media Research Council (MRC), says that may be why there is little to no national coverage of the Lieberman-Lamont contest now. "The media wants the midterm elections to be a referendum on Iraq," says Graham. "You cannot make a point about there being a big surge against Iraq if Ned Lamont's behind by 17 points." Various polls show Lieberman ahead of Lamont by 8-15 points; Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger is in the single digits. At least in this instance, says the MRC spokesman, the media appears to have been wrong. "In this case, obviously the media's intention here was to make Ned Lamont win -- and he's obviously not winning," notes Graham. "This is one of those places where conservatives can take hope and say not every electoral outcome that the liberal media wants actually comes to fruition." Twenty-four hours after the debate among the three candidates, only two national news outlets had devoted any extensive coverage: the New York Times and Associated Press. During the debate, Lieberman called Lamont a liar and accused him of trying to buy Connecticut voters with the nearly $13 million of his family fortune Lamont has spent on the campaign. Schlesinger accused Lieberman of being a liberal masquerading as a moderate to steal GOP votes. [Jeff Johnson]

...State insurance regulators are trying to bar a Christian group from offering a medical cost-sharing program in Kentucky. The Kentucky Office of Insurance is asking for a permanent injunction banning Christian Care Ministry from doing business in the state, because people might confuse its Medi-Share program with health insurance. The regulators warn that participants might have to pay their own medical bills if Medi-Share fails to meet its financial obligations. The program is available only to Christians. Medi-Share's chief executive has said the plan is based on the biblical belief that Christians should take care of one another's needs. Medi-Share excludes non-Christians because their lifestyles can result in unnecessary medical care. Participants cannot smoke, use illegal drugs, or abuse alcohol. [AP]

...The city council in Waco, Texas, has revised an ordinance that pro-life supporters say was drafted to target their protests in front of an abortion clinic. For more than two years, the pro-life community in Waco has fought a battle against the city council. In 2004 the council passed a "parade" ordinance which Pro-Life Waco director John Pisciotta says was created to target pro-life demonstrations in front of an abortion clinic. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that ordinance was unconstitutional, so the city council was forced to revise the measure. Pisciotta says it looks like they now have a measure that will not target those wishing to save innocent lives. "Pro-lifers packed the city council meeting room last Tuesday," Pisciotta shares. "There were very powerful testimonies given as to the benefits from the sidewalk counselors, including a woman standing there with her one-and-a-half-year-old baby boy, who is living today because, when she went for an abortion, there were pro-life counselors there that guided her in a direction of life for her child." Pisciotta says his group has been assured by the city attorney that the new ordinance would not restrict sidewalk counseling and protests at the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. [Rusty Pugh]

...Millions of residents and visitors to the America's largest city will soon be exposed to a Christian outreach. The Assemblies of God USA is coordinating the "God Gives Hope" Times Square-New York City outreach. From November 13-26 the message "God Gives Hope" will be flashed on the NBC JumboTron and the ABC Super Sign in Times Square. John Maempa, director of the national prayer center for the AOG, says the outreach will involved numerous volunteers and churches. "There will be people from the churches that will be distributing literature, a 'God Gives Hope' booklet that contains powerful testimonials," he explains. "We also have produced thousands of refrigerator magnets that have the 'God Gives Hope' image and websites on that as well." Maempa shares that according to marketing estimates, upwards of 21 million people are expected to pass through Times Square during that two-week period. "And then, of course, during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ... there will tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people in that area, many of them riveted to the JumboTron, watching the progress of the parade," he adds. The message "God Gives Hope," along with the prayer center's toll-free phone number, will be displayed nearly a thousand times on the two huge message boards. [Allie Martin]

...One national conservative leader says the U.S. needs more judges like Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia -- and fewer like the lawyers at the ACLU. Scalia recently told the audience at an American Civil Liberties Union debate that the U.S. Constitution is not a "living, breathing document" as liberals argue, but a set of rules subject to change only by the amendment process -- not according to the whims of judges. Eagle Forum founder and president Phyllis Schlafly is applauding Scalia's comments. "If you don't accept the Constitution the way it was written as your basic law of the land," she says, "then the judges can do anything they want to, which is what a lot of them want to do." Schlafly contends that when those judges talk about how the country has to have an independent judiciary, "what they really mean is, independent of the Constitution." The Eagle Forum leader notes that Article Three of the Constitution gives power to the U.S. Supreme Court and the lower federal courts "with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make." She says Christian voters need to urge their senators and representatives to use that power to stop activist judges from legislating Christianity out of the public square. [Jeff Johnson]

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