OUR COLUMNISTS Giuliani -- The Makings of a Good President? Commentary by Matt Friedeman Some words are downright chilling. And, occasionally, they end up affecting the bigger picture; in this case, the presidential 2008 picture. SIECUS Redefines Humanity Commentary by Jane Jimenez Since the beginning of history, mothers and fathers have come together in a married sexual union designed to create children and families. When did this change ... and why? Vain Superstition Commentary by Brad Locke Can a ballplayer sitting in the dugout with a rally cap on really affect the outcome of a game? No more than Pharaoh could have submitted to Moses' request before all the plagues had passed. Jennifer Wilbanks, Teach Us to Pray Commentary by David Sisler We have made God into a puppet. Or worse, a vending machine. Pull His strings, and He dances. Put a request in the slot, push the button, and He delivers. If He does what we asked, He is faithful. And if He does not? A Dark Day for North Carolina Commentary by Mark Creech It was certainly one of the saddest days of my life. The arguments made by certain lawmakers on the floor of the North Carolina House in favor of the lottery were unbelievably shallow and morally bankrupt!

...Christian leaders, theologians and religious activists from around the world are meeting at a conference of the World Council of Churches in Greece. They are discussing divisions among Christians over same-sex unions, the role of homosexual pastors, and women's role in worship. Also on the agenda are ways to combat the spread of AIDS in Africa and promote interfaith dialogue with Muslims to offset the influence of Islamic extremists. The World Council of Churches represents more than 350 Christian denominations. The Roman Catholic Church is not a full member, but collaborates on many panels and initiatives. Last month, the more conservative World Evangelical Alliance told the United Nations Commission on Human Rights that more than 200 million Christians worldwide are being denied religious liberty. [AP]

...Messengers to the upcoming annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in Nashville will hear a resolution calling for an investigation into the influence of the homosexual agenda in the nation's public schools. Sponsors of the resolution -- Southern Baptist preacher Dr. Voddie Baucham, and author Bruce Shorrt -- contend that parents are often unaware of what is being taught to their children under the guise of promoting tolerance, safety, diversity, and multiculturalism. Baucham says the objective of the resolution is to "shine the light of truth in the dark corners of our schools and force our brethren to take a long, hard, honest look at what we have tolerated for far too long." According to a press release from the group Exodus Mandate, the resolution encourages every church in the SBC to determine if any schools in their local school district have either a homosexual club or any curriculum or program that "attempts to influence children to accept homosexual behavior as a legitimate lifestyle." If such clubs or material are found, Southern Baptist churches would be urged to let parents in the community know, and to encourage them to remove their children from the district's school immediately. The Baucham-Shorrt resolution also commends Christians who are currently working in the public school system, encourages Southern Baptists to support educational alternatives to government schools, calls for Baptists to pray for homosexuals, and rebukes homosexual activists for "slandering" minorities by claiming that homosexual behavior has any authentic connection with the civil rights movement. The SBC's Annual Meeting takes place in the Tennessee capital on June 21-22. [Jody Brown]

...U.S. Hispanic religious leaders are calling for an end to Senate filibusters of judicial nominees. At a Capitol Hill news conference, Rev. Miguel Rivera of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian leaders called Democrats' refusal to permit a vote on judicial nominees "unprecedented" and "wrong." Rivera said the Latino coalition, "representing over 5,600 churches in 31 states, is supporting a change in the rules" to end such filibusters. But at a separate news conference, Senator Edward Kennedy said Democrats will continue to block Senate votes on nominees that they believe are "way outside the mainstream." [AP]

...The leader of the grassroots organization Eagle Forum is warning that growing incidence of judicial activism is eroding the power of the U.S. federal and state legislatures for checks and balances. Political activist and constitutional lawyer Phyllis Schlafly says the response of both the federal and state courts to Congress intervening in the Terri Schiavo matter is proof of judicial tyranny. "Congress passed a law instructing the federal court to take a new look at the Terri Schiavo case -- to look at it de novo; that means from the beginning," Schlafly notes, but "the federal court told Congress to go jump in the lake. They absolutely thumbed their nose at Congress and said 'We're not going to do it.'" The conservative activist and author says the courts backed each other up all the way to the federal level, so now legislators need to realize that it is their job to reign in the overextended power of the judicial branch. Schlafly discusses that overextension and what citizens can do about it in her latest book, The Supremacists: The Tyranny of Judges and How to Stop It. [Ed Thomas]

...An immigration reform activist says it is time for Congress to close a loophole that allows thousands of babies born to illegal alien mothers the automatic right to U.S. citizenship. Dan Stein is president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). He says the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was designed to allow the children born to former slaves the right to be recognized as U.S. citizens; however, the immigration reform activist says the statute stipulates that the mother must be under the jurisdiction of the United States of America. "The term 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof,' is a clear key," Stein says. "A person who comes in illegally two hours before delivering a baby has never actually submitted themselves to U.S. jurisdiction -- they're just physically present on U.S. soil. But these hospitals issue these birth certificates that states recognize, and no one's ever questioned it." The immigration reformer activist feels Congress should pass legislation to force America's highest court to clarify the issue. "The Supreme Court has never ruled on the whole interpretation of the 14th Amendment," he says, "so if Congress were to pass this kind of law, it would give us an opportunity to finally get some kind of real Supreme Court guidance on it." Stein contends it is a total corruption of the original intent of the 14th Amendment to allow illegal aliens to come into the U.S. and give birth to children who are immediately entitled to U.S. government welfare benefits. [Chad Groening]

...President George W. Bush was in Moscow yesterday (May 9) to watch a military parade in Red Square -- the same Red Square from which, six decades ago, millions of Russian troops marched off to help defeat Nazi Germany in World War II. Dr. Ariel Cohen, senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies at the Heritage Foundation, feels the U.S. president needs to recognize the Russians' historic contribution to freedom and that he "should acknowledge the great sacrifice and heroism of peoples of the former Soviet Union who broke the backbone of the Nazi war machine." Cohen says the Soviets lost 27 million people during that conflict, including some 12 million soldiers and even more civilians. But Cohen says Bush also must address the problems in Russia today, such as "the lack of freedom, the lack of reform, and how we can fight a new enemy together." Sixty years ago, he notes, the U.S. and Russia both fought against the Nazis and against the Japanese imperialists, and today, both are fighting against radical Islamic terrorism. Cohen says he believes Russia and the U.S. can work together to ensure that nations like Iran do not obtain nuclear weapons that can threaten either nation. [Chad Groening]

...William Murray of the Religious Freedom Coalition believes the growing hostility in Europe towards the Jewish people is related to anti-American sentiment. He notes that throughout Europe, Jews are being blamed for terrorism and as a result, anti-Semitism is flourishing and on the rise. Murray says in France alone last year, "there were 1,400 violent anti-Semitic acts. France has become so bad that French Jews are beginning to migrate to Israel at increasing rates." But according to the religious freedom advocate, this trend is not simply the result of racist hysteria due to Europeans' fear over terrorism. He believes there is a political rationale behind the rising anti-Jewish feeling. Murray says there is an increasingly prevalent belief, led by the French, "that the counter to the United States as a world power is to establish a European-Arab union." In other words, he points out, there is no better way to create an alliance with the Arabs than for European nations to blame Israel for the rise of terrorism. Murray says for anti-American forces in Europe, it all boils down to one simple dichotomy -- namely, Israel is their enemy and Islam is their friend. [Bill Fancher]

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