OUR COLUMNISTS The Passion of the President: Ronald Reagan on Christ and the Crucifixion Guest Commentary by Paul Kengor Long before the editorial pages of the New York Times flogged Mel Gibson for his film or denounced George W. Bush for citing Jesus Christ as his favorite philosopher, they assailed Ronald Reagan for his thoughts on the Nazarene Carpenter. The Circus Is in Town Commentary by Brad Locke Sports has long been an escape for many from the drudgeries of routine and reality, providing thrilling moments of inspirational human achievement. But lately it has become the latest frontier in our voyeuristic culture, its virgin soil being trampled, tilled and left to the eroding elements of excess. The Power of the Word Commentary by David Sisler When was the last time you were talking with a friend and you overlooked a kindness that had been done for you? Later, did you think of something special you might have said, and think, "I wish I would have said that." It's Not the Economy, Stupid! Commentary by Mark Creech No one can rightly deny the importance of economic matters to the country. However, when a culture measures and considers everything in terms of dollars and cents, it's subject to lose its soul. Bill Clinton is a case in point. No president ever did more to assault American ideals.

...In Atlanta, the cradle of the civil rights movement, several hundred black pastors are coming out against homosexual marriage. They are also objecting to comparisons between the campaign for racial equality and the push for same-sex weddings. In a rally last night at a metro Atlanta church, the pastors called for a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, which could be considered again by the Georgia House this week. Many black clergy say they are offended by the homosexual rights movement's claim that their struggle is the same as the effort for equal racial rights. Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Georgia. But supporters of the ban say the constitution needs to be changed prevent judges from forcing Georgia to recognize homosexual marriages performed in other states. [AP]

...The National Right to Life is being accused of betraying pro-lifers in South Dakota who were hoping lawmakers in that state would enact a bill criminalizing abortion. House Bill 1191, sponsored by Republican State Representative Matt McCaulley, sought to ban virtually all abortions in South Dakota and make it a felony punishable for up to 15 years. McCaulley had enlisted the support of the Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center to draft a bill that would directly confront the holding of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. But according to the Center, immediately after the bill was announced, both national and state officials with National Right to Life opposed passage of the bill as not being the right time. Richard Thompson of the Law Center says National Right to life has lost the "moral authority" to lead the pro-life cause. "It is one thing for National Right to Life to disagree with the timing of a bill banning abortions, [but] it is another thing for them to join forces with pro-abortionists to kill the ban -- it is betrayal of the unborn and pro-life movement," the attorney says, adding that he is certain pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL "could not be happier" with National Right to Life. Bill sponsor McCaulley had this reaction: "There is something horribly wrong when South Dakota Right to Life and Planned Parenthood are on the same side of an issue." The bill had passed overwhelmingly in the state House, but was defeated in the Senate by a single vote. [Jody Brown]

...An expert on Asia who served in both the White House and on Capitol Hill does not think the U.S. is likely to take military action against North Korea unless it believes the Pyongyang regime is prepared to launch a missile directed at American soil. The North Korean propaganda machine released a statement last week that it cannot get rid of its nuclear weapons program because if it does, the U.S. would invade. The statement pointed to what happened in Iraq, and signaled a stiffening of North Korea's desire to hold on to its nuclear program. Bill Triplett, who recently published Rogue State: How a Nuclear North Korea Threatens America, says the United States is not likely to risk invading North Korea. "If you think about how close Seoul is [to the North-South border] and all those poison gas artillery shells that the North Koreans have that would fall all over Seoul and on American troops and their dependents living in that area, no one in his right mind could take that kind of a risk," he says, "unless you actually saw a missile on a stand, being gassed up ready to shoot a nuclear weapon at the United States." Triplett says the North Koreans could also blow a dam on a river that flows into Seoul, flooding the South Korean capital. [Chad Groening]

...A California appeals court has upheld the lawsuit of a conservative black leader against Jesse Jackson. The appeals court has reinstated all but one count of the lawsuit filed by Jesse Lee Peterson, the founder and president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND). A lower-court judge had dismissed all but the assault claim. The suit stems from a December 2001 incident at a public meeting that was being held by Toyota Motor Company to award minority contracts. Peterson maintains that Jackson and Jackson's son threatened his life, cursed at him and struck him because he approached Toyota and asked if his group could go directly to the auto manufacturer for contracts instead of having to go through Jackson's group. Peterson says normally a suit like this should be a major media event, especially because Jesse Jackson was being "schooled" by another black man -- Peterson himself. "Of course, it would be all over the news," he says, "but I'm not surprised because the liberal press supports Jackson." Peterson says he is glad the appeals court agreed with him, that his claims could not be dismissed on account of Jackson's free-speech rights. [Chad Groening]

...Donna Coody disbanded her seven-year-old daughter's Brownie troop and took her nine-year-old daughter out of another Girl Scout troop because she was upset over the organization's involvement with Planned Parenthood. But Coody did not want her daughters and other girls in Crawford, Texas, to miss out on camping trips and other scouting activities. So she is starting a troop affiliated with the Christian-based American Heritage Girls. American Heritage Girls was founded in 1995 by a Cincinnati-area woman and her friends who were unhappy that the Girl Scouts accepted lesbians as troop leaders and banned prayer at meetings. What started with 100 girls in Ohio has turned into a nonprofit group with 2,800 members in 22 states. Troops must be chartered by a church or Christian school and troop leaders must sign a statement of faith, but girls do not have to be religious to join. [AP]

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