OUR COLUMNISTS For Whom the (Liberty) Bell Tolls Guest Commentary by Joe Murray 'Get your history straight and your nightlife gay,' is the new tale of tolerance emanating from the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia, best known for being the cradle of liberty and the birthplace of democracy, is striving to become the new city that lies somewhere over the rainbow. ESPN Christianity Commentary by Brad Locke Today's society has an insatiable hunger for sound bites and quick resolutions. Such an outlook is not confined to secular circles. As Christians, we search for truths that will transform our lives, instead of truths that will transform us. Freedom from Fear Commentary by David Sisler Fear does have a positive side. But the gut-wrenching fear that paralyzes so many of us is anything but positive. The fear that immobilizes is simply not of God. Holiday Depression and Suicide Commentary by Mark Creech Depression and the thought of ending one's life can be pervasive. We all have the choice, as Hamlet said, 'to be or not to be.' But God's call to each of us is clear: He wants us 'to be.' No matter how bleak the situation, there is always hope because there is always God.

...Question: How can a state that bans same-sex marriages permit same-sex divorce? Answer: Find a judge who says it can. In March 2002, two Iowa lesbians were joined in a "civil union" in Vermont, home state of Democratic presidential frontrunner Howard Dean. But when County Judge Jeffrey Neary signed the civil divorce settlement for Kimberly Brown and Jennifer Perez of Sioux City, he neglected to notice it was for a same-sex couple. The problem is this: Iowa is one of 37 states whose law bans same-sex marriage -- begging the question: Can a state that doesn't recognize same-sex unions grant a same-sex divorce? Neary tells Associated Press that he had an opportunity to change his mind when the situation was pointed out to him, but decided against doing that because he has an obligation to try to resolve disputes presented in his courtroom. "I don't believe I'm recognizing same-sex marriage," Neary says, adding that he seldom checks the participants' genders when signing divorce decrees. But at least one Republican state senator doesn't see it that way. Senator Neal Schuerer says Neary was wrong, "should have backed away and sent them back to Vermont." The judge's action, he says, is "judicial activism at its worst." Neary was appointed as Woodbury County judge in January by Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack. [Jody Brown]

...One of the nation's best-known jurists says if people are tired of activist judges, then they ought to do something about it. Judge Robert Bork says there are two ways to go about curtailing judges who attempt to make law that is not in the Constitution. He believes the people of the nation must become upset and angered enough to take action. "For example, [courts] are clearly headed toward making homosexual marriage a Constitutional right. There's no way you can relate that to the actual Constitution -- and if there were public outrage, they might back off," Bork says. "Beyond that, the only thing you can really do is political; that is, you can elect enough senators who will confirm judges who play it straight and a president who will nominate such people." Congress has the authority to limit the jurisdiction of judges, but that would have to make it past a filibuster-oriented Senate. [Bill Fancher]

...Supreme Court justices who lean toward the U.S. legal system becoming more like that in Europe may soon have another model to follow. Last week a presidential commission in France backed a measure that would ban from public buildings and schools "conspicuous religious clothing" such as Jewish skullcaps, Islamic head scarves, and large Christian crosses. The head of that commission says the proposed law is aimed at keeping that country's strict secular underpinnings intact and countering "forces that are trying to destabilize the country" -- which Associated Press says is a reference to Islamic fundamentalists in France. That report says one of the fears in France is that the head scarf reflects the rise of militant Islam in the country. Muslims constitute about 7% of France's population of 60 million people, making it the largest Muslim concentration among Western European nations. French President Jacques Chirac is expected to announce this week whether he supports enacting the commission's recommendations into law. He has already made clear his opposition to head scarves in the classroom. [Jody Brown/AP]

...Supporters of ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore have formed a political action committee. The new League of Christian Voters plans to raise money for Christian candidates for the Alabama Supreme Court in next year's elections. Organizers say the money will also be used to elect Christian delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention and possibly to raise funds should Moore decide to run for political office in the future. Moore, meanwhile, is appealing his removal from office to the Alabama Supreme Court. [AP]

...Democrats aren't the only ones voicing concern these days about Republican spending habits. Howard Phillips of the Conservative Caucus is also uneasy about the huge deficit Congress and the president are piling up. "You can make a case that we would have been better off if Gore had been declared the winner of the [2000] election," Phillips says. "A lot of Republicans wouldn't have jobs in Washington, but the American taxpayer would not have been burdened with this extraordinary debt for which we're going to pay." Phillips says taxes are going to remain high as a result of many programs being expanded under President Bush. He says taxpayers' kids and grandkids will have the heaviest burdens. [Bill Fancher]

...A conservative political website recently published a full-page ad in USA Today praising Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The ad was a response to a full-page spread in the New York Times that labeled the defense secretary as a traitor. William Greene, chairman of RightMarch.com, created the patriotic website in order to counter MoveOn.org, which he says is run by "a bunch of hate-America radicals" who used blame-America tactics during the war in Iraq. Greene says while it is perfectly okay to criticize the government, MoveOn.org went too far by calling Rumsfeld a traitor. The Times ad, he says, stated Rumsfeld had "betrayed" the nation. "This was kind of the final straw," Greene says. "We felt that they had simply gone too far and that they needed a response." Greene says the people who support MoveOn.org are the real traitors, and that his group's ad portrays Rumsfeld as an American patriot and hero. [Chad Groening]

...There could be more behind Senator Hillary Clinton's push for greater United Nations involvement in Iraq than her concern for the safety of American troops. Cliff Kincaid, director of the think tank America's Survival, charges the New York senator is not telling what is behind her strong support of the U.N. "She and her husband had given support to the World Federalist Association, a controversial organization which openly supports world government," Kincaid explains. He points out that the WFA stated in one of its documents that by adding more power, authority, and functions to the United Nations, "national sovereignty would be gradually eroded until it is no longer an issue." According to Kincaid, the WFA wants to see nationalities erased and people be designated "world citizens." A stronger involvement by the U.N. in every aspect of life would further that goal. [Bill Fancher]

...Standards have been developed to help ensure that short-term mission trips are effective ministries and not just exotic field trips. Roger Peterson of STEM International says his mission agency and others -- in conjunction with about 35,000 churches -- send out more than one million short-term missionaries each year. He says those missionaries need preparation, training, and leadership from sponsoring groups that are God-centered and provide good follow-up. Peterson says the standards, which can be accessed on the Internet, provide a way for short-term mission sponsors to voluntarily hold each other accountable. [AP]

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