OUR COLUMNISTS Cast Your Vote: Who Is More 'In the Bubble' – George W. or Newsweek? Commentary by Matt Friedeman "Bush's World," reads the front cover of this week's Newsweek. "The Isolated President: Can He Change." Hilarious, really. The Best Christmas Present Under the Tree Commentary by Jane Jimenez How many parents can afford an embossed leather Monopoly set or an original Teddy Bear from Christie's in London? No matter. The best present for our children is close at hand. Trust Me Commentary by Brad Locke I'm not convinced that poor discipline is the bane of many sports teams today. I think the main cause of discord is a lack of trust. The Church Joins the World -- and Almost No One Notices Commentary by David Sisler In the spirit of the season, churches all over our nation will have a very spiritual experience by being closed in celebration of the birthday of our Savior. No matter how you phrase it, no matter how you spin it, that is a prime example of evangelical Christianity having lost its way. Hawaii Supreme Court: The Unborn Are 'Not Human Beings' Commentary by Mark Creech The ruling in the case and Hawaii's penal code clearly define personhood on the basis of functionalism. The Holy Scriptures, however, define one's personhood not by what one does but by what one is.

...The decision by some churches to cancel services this coming Sunday continues to generate controversy. Jon Weece is pastor of Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, one of the churches which has announced it will not hold services on Christmas Day. He says he has heard complaints from Christians in 50 states and is saddened by what he calls "the knee-jerk response of the Christian community." Weece went on to say that the celebrating of Christmas in December is really a tradition based in paganism, and he says Jesus walked all over opinion and tradition. However, WorldNetDaily notes that a Florida mega-church which had canceled its Christmas Sunday services has now reversed its decision. Pastor Bob Coy of Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale says after an onslaught of negative public reaction both inside and outside his church, he has concluded that "if people need Jesus on Christmas, I want to make Him available." [Fred Jackson]

...Christian speaker and ministry founder Rev. Franklin Graham says churches in New Orleans are hoping for a spiritual rebirth of the Louisiana city devastated as a result of Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding. Some evacuees have objected to New Orleans officials' plans to hold the city's annual Mardi Gras celebration as usual on February 28 this year. However, Graham recently told Associated Press that he will be coming to lead a different kind of event in the Big Easy. "The churches in New Orleans have asked that I come and hold a crusade, and we're going to do a two-day crusade in New Orleans," he says. "I'm looking forward to doing this." The evangelist says much of the city and its populace are still devastated months after the hurricane. That is why, he contends, "the pastors are so concerned that the city focus on God and ask for his help." Graham's Samaritan's Purse ministry reports providing more than $30 million in aid to Hurricane Katrina victims. [AP]

...King Kong has turned out to be less of a box-office brute than Hollywood expected, taking in an estimated $50 million on its opening weekend. That is far less than The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe earned when it opened just over a week ago. The C.S. Lewis classic remained the second-most-popular film on its second weekend, selling another $31 million worth of tickets. That lifts the Narnia film's ten-day box office total to more than $112 million. The homosexual cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain was number eight, earning $2.4 million in only 69 theaters. [AP]

...While pro-family groups have lots of good things to say about the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which is now playing in theaters across America, a former homosexual who is now an evangelist is warning families to steer clear of Hollywood's latest promotion of the homosexual lifestyle. Brokeback Mountain, a film about two homosexual cowboys, opened this past weekend. Stephen Bennett of Straight Talk Radio says the film should be avoided. "Brokeback Mountain sends a very dangerous and insidious message to America," says Bennett. "The movie is completely anti-family." He says the film is based on a book that is filled with graphic, homosexual intimacy. Critics claim the director stayed very close to the book. That concerns Bennett. "We're telling parents to keep your children away from this movie, and for just parents and anyone to keep away from this movie," he says. "It's very, very dangerous." Bennett says it is no coincidence the movie was released during the Christmas season and around the same time as The Chronicles of Narnia film. "This is the time people are happy and full of cheer and everyone is in good spirit," he notes. "I find it kindly odd that The Chronicles of Narnia, [based on a book by Christian writer C.S. Lewis] comes out -- and what happens? Brokeback Mountain is released at the same time." [Bill Fancher]

...The creation of a proposed "red-light district" in cyberspace did not happen as planned, and a pro-family attorney says she intends to make sure it doesn't come back. The .XXX domain was initially devised to take the place of .COM for the "adult entertainment" industry, which strongly advocates its creation. Approval for the new Internet domain was widely expected recently at the board meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). But the issue was moved from the meeting's agenda. Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America (CWA), says her group and others have been working very hard to eliminate the porn domain. "Even if we've only delayed approval of the triple-X domain for porn companies operating on the Worldwide Web, that's great," says LaRue. "We do think that the constituents of CWA and [Ameican Family Association] and Family Research Council played a major role in making this happen. We're going to stay on it so that this idea does not come to fruition because it only benefits porn companies." LaRue says the biggest misconception is that the triple-X domain would remove porn from the .COM domain. But she contends that pornographers would continue to use the more common domain. [Rusty Pugh]

...The president of an Ohio-based pro-family group says the Bush administration needs to do more to crack down on pornography. Phil Burress is president of Citizens for Community Values, a Cincinnati-based group that has been instrumental in educating people in Ohio and across the U.S. about the harmful effects of porn. Five years ago, when President George W. Bush was elected to his first term, Burress was hopeful the new administration would take a harder stand against obscene material. He even met with then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to discuss the problem. But the CCV leader says progress has been slow. "I'm very disappointed," he says bluntly. "On July 13 I met with [Ashcroft's successor] Attorney General [Alberto] Gonzales. He promised to really crack down. It's been five years. They've been doing virtually nothing." And while Burress says the recent creation of a task force dedicated to prosecuting illegal pornography is a hopeful sign, he believes grassroots citizens are the most effective weapon against obscene material. "People need to remember that you cannot depend on law enforcement to clean up the pornography problem," he counsels. "In Cincinnati back in the early 80s, there were 2,800 stores that sold magazines -- and 95 percent of them sold Playboy. Today 90 percent of them do not sell any form of pornographic material." CCV is associated with Colorado-based Focus on the Family. [Allie Martin]

...The man behind the "Black Contract with America on Moral Values" plans to rally churches in urban areas next year in an effort to educate and equip pastors to deal with a wide range of social, political, and moral issues. Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., is pastor of Hope Christian Church near Washington, DC. Last year Jackson launched the High Impact Leadership Coalition, a grassroots non-profit organization to help educate and empower church, community, and political leaders in urban areas. Jackson says the Coalition's efforts will expand next year. "We are planning to spend a lot of time consulting with high-impact leaders of the largest black churches in America -- and our goal is then to minister to these guys in a more retreat-type of setting," Jackson explains. Many of those pastors, he says, would be leaders of what he calls "super mega-churches" -- and an objective would be to "really challenge them in a loving way and serve them by saying, 'Okay, let's take the gloves off and begin to develop a biblical worldview that engages our culture.'" Bishop Jackson was a vocal advocate for the re-election of President George W. Bush. [Allie Martin]

...On Saturday a leading Sunni politician in Iraq said his party is committed to forming a coalition in the new parliament, and he thanked insurgent troops for making good on a pledge not to carry out attacks during Thursday's vote. Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador and top general in Iraq have issued a statement congratulating the nation on a successful election and urging unity as the country forms a new government. Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and military consultant Bob Maginnis says he was pleased there was so little violence during Iraq's historic parliamentary elections last week. The Pentagon advisor says Thursday was a good day for George W. Bush and, "in fact, voters leaving the polls praised President Bush and thanked Americans for standing fast with the Iraqi people." The military expert believes the success of these elections will go a long way toward debunking the critics of President Bush's Iraqi policy. "I was gratified," he says. "I think the President has reason to be proud of the performance of the soldiers and all Americans who have had confidence in him as well as in the process in Iraq." Maginnis feels Bush's critics have been "snuffed out to a certain degree," thanks to his recent speeches and this "resounding victory" at the polls in Iraq. [Chad Groening]

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