OUR COLUMNISTS So, Now the Church Is the New Whipping Boy for the GOP? Commentary by Matt Friedeman While acknowledging GOP Senator Tom Coburn has courage to "slap around" the Religious Right, columnist Matt Friedeman questions the lawmaker's accusation that the church has played a role in food stamp fraud. The Science of Wisdom Commentary by Jane Jimenez The smartest of Americans are able to prove they are the smartest because they have a 3-inch study of research that agrees with them. Could this have been what killed the lemmings? Beware Ready-Made Role Models Commentary by Brad Locke Too often Christians treat born-again celebrities as ready-made role models, expecting them to be as proficient in their theology as they are in their careers. Unfortunately, many of these celebrities seem to buy into this line of thinking. Rebuking the 'Clergy Letter Project' Commentary by Mark Creech It is most unfortunate so many Christian leaders have concluded that evolution is scientific, whereas creationism and intelligent design are simply religious -- when, in fact, evolution is incapable of being scientifically proven.

...Late Thursday, the Arab-owned company caught in the middle of a White House-Congress spat announced it would give up its management stake in a deal that would have had it operating some cargo terminals at half a dozen U.S. ports. Dubai Ports World says in the interest of preserving the "strong relationship" between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates, it will transfer operations of the ports to a United States entity. The move heads off a showdown between an administration that was standing firmly behind the plan, and congressional Democrats and Republicans who opposed it because of national security concerns. A House panel had overwhelmingly voted against the plan, and Republican leaders were warning President Bush that both the House and Senate were ready to reject it. But even though it appears the issue may have been settled, some Capitol Hill lawmakers are saying the larger issue of port security still needs to be addressed, perhaps with legislation to protect the nation's ports. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says it is a problem that "still looms large." And Democrat Patty Murray says, "There are gaping holes in cargo and port security that need to be addressed." But some Senate Democrats are not convinced the issue with Dubai Ports World is even settled. Nevada's Harry Reid cautions that "we will have to wait and see what is really going to happen." His colleague from New York, Charles Schumer, seems concerned that Dubai Ports might still retain ultimate control over port operations. If that happens, he says, "I don't think our goals would be accomplished and obviously we will need to study this agreement carefully." [Jody Brown/AP]

...Plaintiffs suing the Air Force now want a federal judge to declare the service's new guidelines on religion unconstitutional. The original lawsuit had asked the court to bar illegal proselytizing throughout the Air Force and claimed that the Air Force Academy was imposing evangelical Christianity on cadets. The plaintiffs are now amending their suit to challenge the revised Air Force guidelines that were issued last month. They claim that the new guidelines let evangelicals promote their religion and allow senior officers to influence the religious choices of their subordinates. They are also seeking to add a new plaintiff -- an Air Force recruiter who alleges that he was asked by superiors to use Jesus Christ as a recruiting tool. [AP]

...Now that arrests have been made in the Alabama church burnings, investigators are looking for links to other instances of arson there. Federal, local and state authorities involved in the investigation believe the three college students arrested in the case are responsible for at least nine of the ten fires that damaged or destroyed rural Alabama churches last month. But Christian activist Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition believes more incidents may need to be probed. "We don't know if they're linked," he says, "but a Christian business was burned in Tuscaloosa; a Methodist chapel [at] the University of Alabama was burned, and there was a copycat [church burning] in Eastern Alabama." The three arson suspects in custody claim their crime spree began as a joke; but Mahoney wonders if there might be something more behind these fires. "When a church building is attacked, it isn't just a building," he insists, "but it's what that building represents, the core values. So when a church is attacked, Christianity is attacked." The Christian Defense Coalition spokesman has made several requests of the White House to issue a statement condemning these acts; but so far, President Bush has remained silent on the matter. [Bill Fancher]

...A South Dakota-based pro-life activist says crisis pregnancy centers nationwide are ready to provide alternatives to pregnant women once abortion is outlawed in that state. Leslee Unruh is founder of the Alpha Center, a crisis pregnancy center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She tells Associated Press that many crisis pregnancy centers throughout the U.S. are led by women who regret their own past abortions and hope to steer other women toward motherhood or adoption. "We have 1,400 centers ... and great people out there that are leading most of these centers -- women and men, but mostly a lot of post-abortive women who know the pain of what abortion has done," Unruh says. But State Representative Roger Hunt, sponsor of his state's newly enacted abortion ban, reminds opponents of abortion that they need to pray South Dakota's new ban will survive court challenges. "The prayers have to continue," Hunt says, particularly "for all of those people that are involved in the judicial system." However, some pro-lifers are not entirely satisfied with South Dakota's abortion ban because the law contains a provision that allows babies conceived through rape or incest to be aborted. [Rusty Pugh]

...The head of a ministry to those suffering from the wounds of abortion says women facing crisis pregnancies are often told "a cruel lie" by abortion providers, society, and even well-meaning family and friends. According to Betsy Kopor, founder of Rachel Ministries of North Texas, many tell these vulnerable women they have two choices: they can have their baby and their life will change, or they can have an abortion and life will continue as before. However, Kopor insists this is untrue, since either choice will be life-changing. Rachel Ministries offers confidential programs and services for those living with the devastating aftermath of abortion, helping them grieve, find closure, and reconcile with God. Organized retreats offer participants a chance to get away from daily pressures and focus on their pain in a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment. The retreats allow these individuals to share their stories, release shame and anger, and let pain surface so they can start identifying self-harming patterns that may be blocking their healing. Kopor says Rachel Ministries offers faith-based hope and healing to anyone "suffering from the spiritual and emotional pain of abortion's aftermath." Through "living scripture exercises," an integral part of the retreats, participants are able to "hear the words of Jesus as He interacts with and heals those who approach Him," the ministry founder explains. In addition to offering retreats and programs for abortion's living victims, Rachel Ministries of North Texas also provides clergy and mental health professionals with training in helping post-abortion trauma sufferers; fosters public awareness of this important area; and offers referrals to licensed therapists, pastoral counselors and peer counselors for one-on-one counseling and therapy. [Jenni Parker]

...Officials with Wal-Mart have announced the company will stock the emergency contraceptive drug known as the "morning-after pill" in all of its pharmacies throughout the U.S. starting March 20. Bill Johnson, president of the American Decency Association, feels this decision is only the latest in a series of family-unfriendly moves by the world's largest retailer's officials. "We have seen them in recent months making decisions like advertising on Desperate Housewives," he notes. "Now, with this move as well, this is truly significant. Many of us have desired to be able to look a Wal-Mart as a shopping alternative, a place that is family friendly. One person we talked with recently said that they're lately not family friendly, they're consumer friendly." That is why the decency advocate believes pro-family customers need to let the corporate giant know how they feel, as they have in the past. "A couple of years ago, when people would walk into their Wal-Mart, right in the doorway, there would be the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition facing them," Johnson notes. "We began to urge people to make telephone calls to Wal-Mart, and within a week's period of time, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition was at least taken down from the central place and tucked back into the magazine racks, which we considered a very significant victory." Massachusetts and Illinois had previously ordered Wal-Mart stores in those states to stock the morning-after pill. Now, effective March 20, all of Wal-Mart's more than 3,700 pharmacies nationwide will carry the ethically controversial drug also known as "Plan B." [Allie Martin]

...A leader of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) says next week at a meeting in Saudi Arabia the group's 57 member nations will be urged to boycott trade with Israel. Israeli media say the OIC meeting will result in a violation of Saudi Arabia's commitment to drop its boycott of Israel before the United States agreed to let the kingdom join the World Trade Organization. The WTO's rules forbid any member government from participating in a boycott of a fellow WTO member. Saudi Arabia, which for years has been part of the Arab League boycott of Israel, has taken an ambiguous stance since joining the WTO in December, with the Saudi government saying it will not discriminate against any WTO member and will follow the trade group's rules. However, it never officially called off the boycott and there is still no trade between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Saudi Arabia, well known for its anti-Israel stance and its intolerance of any religion other than Islam, recently staged a telethon that raised more than $100 million for the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. [Rusty Pugh]

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