OUR COLUMNISTS Pledging Allegiance Without God Guest Commentary by Paul Kengor "How would Ronald Reagan respond to the attempt to remove 'one nation under God' from America's Pledge of Allegiance?" Reagan biographer Paul Kengor has an answer: the former two-term president would be quite disturbed. Labeling a Sticky Proposition Commentary by Brad Locke Negative labels tend to have stronger adhesion than positive ones. Conversely, labels such as hero or good guy or even Christian can be peeled off by a strong gust of wind. I'm here to defend a few athletes who have been wrongly labeled during their careers. 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." The Sexual Assault on America Commentary by Mark Creech The defying of marriage laws by gays and lesbians in California, New York, Illinois, New Mexico, and Oregon is an attempted gang rape of our culture. Moreover, America demonstrates all the symptoms and needs of a victim of sexual assault.

...Terrorists have reportedly been using profits from real estate investments in the Washington, DC, area to fund terrorist groups like Hamas and al-Qaida. According to Justice Department investigators, Hamas terrorists have taken advantage of the booming real estate market in and around the U.S. capital over the past 15 years in order to help fund their deadly activities. Using these land investments, the terrorists have been able to make a financial killing. Josh Block of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee says such activity is absolutely illegal in the country that is leading the world in a war against terror. "Hamas is a group that has murdered Americans as well as our friends, the Israelis, and folks from Europe and all around the world. Anything that they're doing to enrich themselves and pay for this kind of terrorism must be stopped, period," he says. Many of those involved in the terrorist-related investment scheme have been arrested, and their front organizations dismantled. [Bill Fancher]

...A rash of fires in Kentucky is being blamed on arsonists. Weekend fires destroyed one church, damaged a second house of worship, and left an apartment building in ashes. A third church in the region was torched earlier in the month, and investigators are looking for possible links to this past weekend's blazes. A state police arson investigator says the church fires may have been set to cover burglaries. A member of one of the torched churches tells the Courier-Journal newspaper, "You can burn the building, but you can't kill the spirit." There were also 90 separate forest fires in Eastern Kentucky over the weekend, and a state forestry agent says most of them appeared to have been set intentionally. Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting state investigators. [Sherrie Black]

...Rock for Life, a youth project of the American Life League, is announcing the second annual National Pro-life T-shirt Day. On April 27, thousands of young people across the United States will participate by wearing T-shirts with pro-life messages to their high schools, colleges, and wherever else they travel that day, thus publicly expressing their support for the sanctity of all human life. Rock for Life's director, Jason Scott Jones, calls the national event a day of healing for a generation that has lost a third of its members to the genocide of abortion. Furthermore, he says, that day will help save the lives of countless preborn children and spare their mothers the terrible physical, mental, and spiritual consequences of abortion. "This simple act of solidarity and courage on the part of America's pro-life youth will save more babies' lives on this day than on any other day in the year," Jones says. Rock for Life notes that young pro-lifers have faced many challenges for wearing T-shirts expressing respect for life in the womb, particularly in the past decade. While pro-abortion forces spread propaganda without restraint, school officials have often suppressed pro-life expression, forcing students to remove or their pro-life T-shirts in public, and verbally attacking or even suspending students for wearing them. Some young people have even been threatened with arrest for wearing pro-life statements on their shirts in public. In several such cases, the Thomas More Law Center has offered legal assistance to students dealing with infringements on their free-speech rights. [Jenni Parker]

...A judge has ordered removal of a Ten Commandments display that hangs amid other historical documents in the county administration building in Goshen, Indiana. Federal Judge Robert Miller Junior ruled that it is unconstitutional to post the Ten Commandments in a government building. Elkhart County Commissioner Martin McCloskey says he is disappointed with the ruling, but expects it to be appealed. The ruling is similar in outcome to a 2002 federal lawsuit against the City of Elkhart, which agreed to remove a granite monument bearing the Ten Commandments in front of the Elkhart City Hall. [AP]

...The co-author of the best-selling "Left Behind" books says there will be two more installments in the saga. Glorious Appearing, the 12th installment in the print series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, went on sale earlier this week. This latest book completes the series with Christ's triumphal return and Satan's defeat as Christ's thousand-year reign begins. However, LaHaye wants readers to know that there is more to come. "We're also going to come out with a prequel that will show the events of the rapture from the inside," he says, describing how the book will follow certain characters as they are caught up and go to meet loved ones in heaven. "Then we have the sequel," LaHaye says. That story, which the authors are still fleshing out, will take place during the Millennium, the peaceful thousand-year reign of Christ. But LaHaye says the setting presents a literary conundrum for him and his co-author. "Jerry says the problem is there won't be any conflict between good and evil," LaHaye says, "and you have to have that in every fiction book, one way or another. But it won't be possible. Can you imagine a time when it won't be possible to sin or break the law, when Christ will be in rigid control, establishing a reign of righteousness?" By the time Glorious Appearing went on sale, the book was already a best-seller with more than two million copies pre-ordered. [Allie Martin]

...As Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is released in France's theaters today, Roman Catholic bishops in that country are warning people against it, charging the film with oversimplification of Jesus' life and teachings and exploitation of modern audiences' fascination with violence. The Conference of French Bishops also voiced concerns that the movie could "could be used to comfort anti-Semitic opinions." Reports of anti-Semitic acts have been increasing in France, which is home to Western Europe's largest Muslim population. Meanwhile, The Passion of the Christ is already a huge hit among Arab Muslims and Christians in the Middle East. The film has drawn large and enthusiastic crowds in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. And Arabs in other Middle East countries are eagerly awaiting its release. It seems that many viewers not only perceive a strong anti-Jewish message in the movie -- they consider it part of the film's appeal. A Jordanian Muslim woman recalls being moved to tears when she saw the movie, which she says, "unmasked the Jews' lies." Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat watched the movie last weekend in the West Bank. He compared the pain Jesus endured during the crucifixion to the suffering he says Israel has inflicted on Palestinians. [AP]

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