OUR COLUMNISTS Democracy's Delusion? Commentary by Joe Murray It is time for the yearly ritual where the elected branches of the federal government abdicate their authority to the unelected "men in black" sitting on the Supreme Court. Sacrificing Truth for Love Commentary by Jane Jimenez Modern pundits despair when people make statements claiming an absolute truth. They have forgotten the wisdom of the ages .... Truth endures for the very reason that it does not tolerate untruths. True Devotion Commentary by Brad Locke Living in the Bible belt, I'm well aware of how people treat church like a social club. To treat a sporting event in such a way is disrespectful -- but to treat corporate worship that way is unconscionable. A Father's Influence Extends to Generations Commentary by Mark Creech There's no escaping it. Dads either build a place of blessing for their children, or they build a prison. They either grow weeds -- or roses.

...Emergency appeals continue to be filed on behalf of citizens and groups who are fighting to keep a huge cross atop a veterans memorial in Southern California. The Mt. Soledad cross in La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego, has been ordered removed by August 1 or the city of San Diego faces a $5,000 daily fine. The battle over the 29-foot-tall concrete cross, which was erected in 1954, has been in the courts since an atheist sued for its removal in 1989. In the latest developments, Liberty Legal Institute (LLI) filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Wednesday on behalf of the American Legion. Chief counsel Kelly Shackelford says the case is part of an attack on war memorials and is a disgrace to dead veterans. And this morning (Thursday), the Thomas More Law Center filed an emergency application in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy to stay the lower-court decision ordering the cross be taken down. That application was filed on behalf of the group San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial. The Law Center's president and chief counsel, Richard Thompson, admits "time is running out" in the case his firm believes "presents a serious question regarding the place of religious symbols in the public life" of the nation. "It would be a national tragedy to tear down the memorial cross ..." and would cause "irreparable harm" to the citizens of San Diego as well as to the family, friends, and comrades of the nearly 2,000 honored by the memorial, says the Law Center in its application with the high court. [Jody Brown/AP]

...House Republicans have failed to move a bill out of committee that would protect the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Republicans could not muster a simple majority on the issue yesterday in a committee where they outnumber Democrats by six. The legislation tries to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over cases challenging the pledge. A federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that the pledge is unconstitutional because it contains the words "under God." A district court judge made a similar ruling last fall, citing the appeals court precedent. Ten of the House Judiciary Committee's 23 Republicans did not show up for a vote and one sided with Democrats. [AP]

...A pro-family spokeswoman claims U.S. family court judges have bought into feminist ideology and dads are suffering because of it. Conservative author and commentator Phyllis Schlafly says divorce court is rigged against fathers who want to share custody of their children. She believes many judges usurp parental authority by requiring fathers to pay child support just to see their children and that this is all part of a ploy designed to render men irrelevant. "I think it's the result of the feminist ideology and the way the feminists have used the legal system in order to teach the lawyers, the judges, the child custody evaluators, the psychologists, the psychiatrists, and so forth that women are victims and men are oppressors," Schlafly says. Also, she notes, the state becomes eligible for more federal funding when dads pay child support, so governments have a motive for perpetuating the system. However, Schlafly says several states have initiated legislation that would give divorced fathers equal custody rights with mothers. [Natalie Harris]

...A Pentagon advisor who recently returned from his second visit to Guantanamo Bay says members of the clergy who have called for the U.S. to stop torturing detainees at Gitmo and other U.S. detention facilities do not know what they are talking about. Recently, Pastor Rick Warren joined Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals, and 24 other religious leaders in signing a statement calling for the U.S. to abolish torture now, without exception. Members of this group have also formed a new organization called the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. But retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis recently visited Gitmo and says any claims of torture going on there are ridiculous. "I've seen the detainees," he asserts. "I've talked to all the leaders. I've seen first hand the food -- I ate the food that the detainees eat. I've seen the medical conditions. These people are being treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention." And, lest anyone forget, he adds, "These are people we took off the battlefield who were trying to kill Americans." The 460 detainees at Guantanamo Bay are not being tortured, Maginnis asserts. "We treat them humanely," he says. "We're feeding these people 4,200 calories every day. They are receiving three million dollars of food every year, blessed by an approved imam. And the preventative medicine down there, the required medical treatment, is far in excess of anything even the top officials in many of the countries they come from would get." If Pastor Warren and the other anti-torture statement signers really want to find out about what is going on at these detention facilities, Maginnis says, they should come see for themselves. [Chad Groening]

...A tentative ruling by a federal judge would allow six students from a Christian school to sue the University of California over its refusal to recognize religious-based courses in the admission process. U.S. District Judge James Otero has ruled for now that the students from Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murietta can pursue their case. It claims that the UC system violated their free speech and discriminated against them. (See earlier article) At the same time, Otero expressed concern that no Islamic or Jewish schools had joined Calvary's suit. UC attorneys argue they have a right to set standards and that the courses were not rejected because of ideology but because they did not teach adequately. Joining the lawsuit as a co-plaintiff is the Association of Christian Schools International, which represents 800 religious schools nationwide. [AP]

...WORLD Magazine founder and columnist Joel Belz says although he supports Christian education and home schooling, those methods of education are not perfect. Belz is particularly concerned that those involved in private Christian or home education may sometimes ignore others who might like to participate but cannot afford to do so. "Don't get me wrong," the writer says. "I think it's the most natural, God-ordained sort of thing for us to think first about our own children. We should think first [about them], because that's the order of things. But in thinking first of our own children, we ought to hurry then to think about the needs of others and not put it on some long-term agenda list and say, 'Well, I'll get around to that when I get things straightened out for myself." Belz also encourages Christian parents to train their children not just to know biblical facts but to defend their beliefs. [Natalie Harris]

...After covering nearly 2,700 miles since January 1, Rick and Jane McKinney are less than 40 miles from the ending point of their Walk to Reclaim America. The Christian couple plans to reach their destination in the nation's capital on July 4, thus completing their six-month journey across America. And when they arrive, Rick McKinney says he and his wife will each have walked every mile, step by step, of the monumental trek from Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, California, to Washington, DC. "People want to know if we're 'tag-teaming' it or switching on and off with each other," the Christian activist notes. "We're not. We've both walked every step ... and we've got the blisters and sore muscles to prove it." The Walk to Reclaim America was born out of the couple's desire to see their country return to the faith of its founders, Jane McKinney notes. "We've been praying for a spiritual awakening," she says, adding, "We've seen a change in our own lives as we've walked day after day across our nation. I think people are beginning to realize that the key to spiritual renewal in America is reaching out in love to others instead of just feeding their own desires." The McKinneys insist that their walk is not political but spiritual. They say America cannot expect to experience God's blessings and presence as it once did until its citizens return to a deep and abiding faith in him. [Jenni Parker]

...The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that its authors hope will help bring clarity and accountability into the spending process in Washington, DC. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt introduced the legislation, noting, "It takes the vast amount of money the federal government has spent in terms of grants and government loans to private groups and suddenly, for the first time, creates transparency into that." The bill sets up a website that would disclose who gets a grant or loan, the amount of money involved, and how much the group has received from the taxpayers over the past ten years. [Bill Fancher]

...Author Jed Babbin, who served as Undersecretary of Defense under Bush 41, says even though many experts predict a Chinese invasion of Taiwan will trigger a war between China and the United States, he is not sure that is necessarily the case. "I don't think it's inevitable for one simple reason," Babbin explains. "I think the Taiwanese are caving in like crazy. They're saying they're going to increase defense spending by up to three percent of their GDP within the next several years, where in the same time they're going to reduce their military force by a third." As things stand, the former Defense Department official wonders if America should try to protect Taiwan if that nation is unwilling to invest in its own defense. "They've got to meet their side of the obligation," he says. "I predict that, unfortunately, Taiwan will go under, but they will not even go under with much of a fight," Babbin contends. "The real issue here is whether we should defend Taiwan if Taiwan is not willing to defend itself. If these guys are not willing to invest in their own defense, I'm not so sure we want to spend American lives and American money to try to defend them." [Chad Groening]

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