OUR COLUMNISTS All of a Sudden, Newsweek Concerned About Kids Viewing R-rated Movies Guest Commentary by James L. Lambert Newsweek's mockery of Mel Gibson's effort to convey an accurate depiction of the last 12 hours of Christ's life reflects the magazine's uneasiness with religion. But it is no wonder why a film like The Passion of the Christ literally terrifies liberal elites. God Doesn't Care Who Wins? Commentary by Brad Locke God doesn't care who wins. But that doesn't mean He doesn't care. He's not an apathetic God, nor is He too busy to expend energy on seemingly trivial matters like ballgames. Nothing is too insignificant that it isn't integral to God's ultimate plan. The Fleas of a Thousand Camels Commentary by David Sisler Jesus bore the insults of the chief priests, false though they were, and bore our sins and paid the price of eternal redemption for "whosoever will." We insult Him if we reject His free gift. No Time to Despair Commentary by Mark Creech it appears that Christians are losing on nearly every front of the culture war. It looks like we're surrounded on every side and our demise imminent. But there is still enough of a biblical base left among the people of this country that if built upon, matters could be turned around.

...Roy Blunt of Missouri, the majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, says despite record-setting spending in Congress, President Bush should be praised for actually cutting costs in all areas of spending not related to national homeland security or defense. "The president has taken that category -- non-defense, non-homeland security -- and reduced it from the 15 percent growth he found the year he got here, that he couldn't do anything about, to less than half that number the next year, less than half of that number the next year, and less than 1 percent growth -- less than actually one-half of one percent is what he proposed," Blunt points out. The Republican whip says the president should be getting praise for these accomplishments rather than the criticism he is receiving, some of that coming from his own party. [Bill Fancher]

...Despite the budget battle with Congress over areas to cut, the White House is holding firm on one important item. President Bush wants Congress to expand the health-care benefits of veterans. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi says the Bush Administration is working hard to let veterans know that neither they nor their sacrifice has been forgotten. "The president is absolutely committed to caring for men and women when they come back from war, of any generation, and he's demonstrated that by some of the largest increases the VA has ever received in its history, primarily for health care," he says. Principi notes that his department will see a 40 percent increase in health-care benefits in the new budget -- good news for the military veterans who have protected American freedoms. [Bill Fancher]

...Ohio's state school board has approved an optional set of science lessons for public schools titled "Critical Analysis of Evolution." Critics say it includes elements of intelligent design, which suggests that some features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process. School Board member Robin Hovis, who voted against the optional lesson plan, called it "a religious effort cloaked as science." But board member Michael Cochran, who voted with the majority, noted that scientists had spoken on both sides of the issue. The federal No Child Left Behind Act states that "where topics are taught that may generate controversy, the curriculum should help students to understand the full range of scientific views that exist." [AP]

...The parents of an Alabama fifth-grader have filed suit claiming their son was wrongly barred from giving his classmates slips of paper bearing Bible verses during his public school's Christmas party. Robert Dowd and his mother made "joy jars" for him to give classmates at a Christmas party in Satsuma, Alabama. The small jars were stuffed with slips of paper containing Bible verses and positive messages about Jesus. But the Dowds claim that while students were at recess, teacher Myra Lucas opened the jars and removed the slips after discussing them with Principal Deborah Altman. The lawsuit says Lucas later told Robert that "because there are Muslims and all sorts of religions," such gifts were forbidden. The school district's attorney disputes that account, and insists there was not any violation of federal law. [AP]

...Last weekend's visit of Mexican President Vicente Fox with President Bush in Texas has served to re-ignite concerns over Bush's amnesty program for illegal immigrants. The controversial amnesty plan has many people upset for various reasons. Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum is particularly upset by what is called the Social Security Totalization part of the program, which she describes as a semantic expression for offering social security benefits to temporary workers, "even though they have not paid ten years into the system as Americans must pay to get benefits." Schlafly calls Bush's amnesty plan an employment program for lawbreakers and says it "boggles the mind to know that people want to give Social Security benefits to illegal aliens that are better than American citizens can get." She says America is not an employment agency for willing workers from other countries. [Bill Fancher]

...A former congressman turned radio talk-show host says he will work hard for the re-election of President George W. Bush this year, even though he believes the president is being misserved by those advisors around him who believe Islam is a peaceful religion. Bob Dornan recently lost his bid to unseat California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in the Republican congressional primary. Dornan is not only concerned that the president is being ill-advised by Rohrabacher and others about the true nature of Islam, but the commentator is also convinced that Rohrabacher is helping radical Muslims get access to the White House through the so-called Islamic Free Market Institute. Still, Dornan says the president must get re-elected. "Maybe in a second term we can peel away from him all these people who misserve him to have him constantly saying Islam is a religion of peace," he says. According to Dornan, Rohrabacher has tried to suggest a moral equivalency between Palestinian homicide bombers and Israeli defense forces attempting to weed out the terrorist killers. "We cannot have people who think, as Dana has espoused ... both sides are committing these atrocities. He said this on the House floor on September 17, 2001," Dornan says. [Chad Groening]

...Many Catholics are hailing some recent appointments made by Pope John Paul. The Associated Press news agency reports that the Roman Catholic pontiff has chosen a woman, Harvard University's Mary Ann Glendon, to be the head of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, a scholarly organization that produces research to help the Roman Catholic Church establish policy. The 65-year-old Glendon -- a prominent Catholic intellectual and leading pro-life advocate -- headed the Vatican delegation at a 1995 United Nations women's conference in Beijing. Her new post is the highest consultative position held by a woman in the Catholic Church. The pope has also appointed four new U.S. bishops -- two in Massachusetts, one in New York state, and another in Missouri. Of particular note is the appointment of Rev. Timothy McDonnell, who helped the Covenant House youth ministry weather a molestation scandal in 1990. McDonnell was named bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts, less than a month after Bishop Thomas Dupre stepped down amid accusations that he molested two boys in the 1970s during his tenure as a parish priest. Bishop McDonnell, the new Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts, told AP, "There's nothing so bad that God can't bring a greater good out of it, if we let Him." [Jenni Parker]

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