OUR COLUMNISTS African 'Aid' Not All It's Cracked Up to Be Commentary by Matt Friedeman Let's not give any more money to Africa -- regardless of what our Live8 rock stars are saying and the guilt they are trying to lay on us at the current G8 summit. Abortion Recall Commentary by Jane Jimenez You've probably carried more stories on product recalls than you can count: Ford Pinto, Viagra, Ephedra, Fen-Phen ... and more. Most recently, drugs manufactured by Able Laboratories are front-page news. What's next? Itching Ears Commentary by Brad Locke Failure is inextricably tied to self-esteem for many people, but those who don't fear failure are the ones who succeed most often. When nothing else can cause a person to re-examine his approach and fix it, failure will often do so. It is a great teacher. Amnesia Commentary by David Sisler What would it be like to wake up and not remember the evil that you had done, the people you had hurt, the sins you had committed? What would you pay for a little selective amnesia? Preaching a 'Celebrity Gospel' Commentary by Mark Creech A "celebrity gospel" is when a preacher compromises the gospel of Christ in order to achieve or sustain a celebrity status. Columnist Mark Creech offers two examples of preachers he says are proclaiming a celebrity gospel of late.

...A Heritage Foundation research scholar thinks more attacks like the one in London will be inevitable, with far worse casualties, as long as appeasers continue to defend terrorists. Dr. Ariel Cohen, Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Heritage Foundation, feels the London attack should be a wakeup call, not only to Britain and Europe but also to the United States. However, he believes Western governments are not properly equipped to handle terrorism. "The problem," Cohen says, "is that we have national governments that are trained to deal with other governments confronting a global movement -- the radical fanatical Islamist movement that views the West as the mortal enemy and wants to destroy us." But the Heritage Foundation scholar contends there are too many voices urging appeasement. "People who are spending their breath defending terrorists and their rights do not understand the mortal danger we are all in," he asserts, "because today it's the London tube, tomorrow it's the Washington metro, and the day after tomorrow it's the New York metro." And the next time, Cohen adds, the terrorists might use a weapon of mass destruction that could result in thousands of deaths. [Chad Groening]

...A retired military leader believes mosques throughout western Europe are assisting Islamic terrorists' murderous efforts. Major General Paul Vallely (U.S. Army Ret.) is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as well as the Army's Ranger, Infantry, Airborne, Command and General Staff schools. In addition to serving in several overseas theaters of war, including Europe, the Pacific Rim, and two combat tours in Vietnam, he has also served on U.S. security assistance missions to Europe, Asia, and Central America with in-country experience in Indonesia, El Salvador, Panama, Columbia, Honduras and Guatemala. Now this seasoned military veteran is bringing his experience to bear on the war on terror, and he has come to suspect that terrorists are getting lots of help from mosques in the U.S. and abroad. "Through these mosques, these cells are organized; they have safe houses in the Muslim communities. They're funding their ability to purchase explosives and any other equipment they need." The military expert says this "certainly, would be a rationale for what happened in London and what happened in Spain in 2004." America must keep a close eye on the mosques, Vallely advises, especially those openly preaching hate. [Bill Fancher]

...Leaders of the Church of England have voted to start a process that would end the church's ban on women becoming bishops. Other branches of the world Anglican Communion, including the U.S. Episcopal Church, already have women serving as bishops. Since the Church of England's first female priests were ordained in 1994, reformists have argued that it is illogical and unfair to bar them from the higher role. But opponents in the English church's growing ranks of conservatives and evangelicals believe there is not any biblical precedent for women bishops, since Christ's apostles all were male, and that it is wrong for women to have authority over men in a religious capacity. [AP]

...The retired military chaplain appointed to help set guidelines for religious expression at the U.S. Air Force Academy says it is taking longer than he expected. The Air Force hired Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff after a Pentagon task force investigation into complaints of religious intolerance at the academy found leaders had failed to accommodate the diverse religious needs of students. Resnicoff's job is to help carry out the task force's recommendations, including helping cadets and commanders freely practice their religion without appearing to endorse one faith over another. Resnicoff initially said he would rush to get a basic policy in place before the new class of cadets reported in early July. He now hopes to present the guidelines when the fall semester begins. [AP]

...The Kansas legislature has answered a State Supreme Court mandate to authorize a dramatic increase in education spending. However, State Representative Lance Kinzer of Olathe contends the court should not be telling the legislature what to do; and how the increase is to be funded is still uncertain. The state legislature passed a compromise $148.4 million dollar education funding plan in response to the Kansas Supreme Court's demand. However, Kinzer says the court has no business dictating spending to the legislature. "We have a court decision in which the judiciary is actually directing the legislature to make an appropriation of funds," he points out, "and from my perspective that raises an extremely serious separation of powers issue and is just part of the broader issue of judicial overreach that we see going on all across the country." The Kansas representative says the legislature's education package will be funded by existing state revenues, but he expects Governor Kathleen Sebellius will argue that gambling be used to make up for what will be spent. The governor, he notes, "has been a staunch gambling advocate from the time she was elected," and her campaign was "heavily financed by the gaming interests." Kinzer contends Governor Sebellius is exploiting "a situation where the Supreme Court of Kansas has abused its power" so she can provide political payback to those who support gaming. [Rusty Pugh]

...The Web Evangelism Bulletin reports that Christian author and ministry founder Tom Burford, who runs the FiresofDarkness.com site as an outreach for pornography addicts and those who love them, has launched a new site targeting men who frequently travel away from home. ManOnTheRoad.org is an extension of the Man On The Road ministry, headquartered in Madison, Tennessee. The recently launched website has a particular emphasis on helping men avoiding the many temptations that arise from life on the road. Buford feels a deep concern for men who travel for a living, particularly since he has been a truck driver and was also a bus driver for years -- first for Trailways, then for entertainers ranging from the rock band Twisted Sister to the legendary Johnny Cash. Through the Man On the Road ministry and website, Burford hopes to reach truck and bus drivers, pilots, salesmen, entertainers, and other men who travel for work. "We are trying to reach them where they are without being preachy," he says. Burford, who wrote Riding a Dead Horse: Carousel to Hell, the story of God's miraculous redemptive work in his life, and the novel Fires of Darkness, points out that he knows first-hand the dangers that lie in wait for men who fail to guard their hearts and minds on the road. [Jenni Parker]

...An immigration research institute in Washington, DC, says analysis of birth records indicates that in 2002 the percentage of children born to immigrants reached an all-time high in the United States. The Center for Immigration Studies calls its new report "Births to Immigrants in America, 1970-2002." Rich Camarota is director of research at CIS. He says, "We analyzed the birth certificate data that the federal government collects, and what we found was that nearly one out of every four children in the United States has an immigrant mother -- that is, foreign born, legal or illegal. This is the highest level ever in American history." And Camarota says a staggering percentage of these U.S. births have been to illegal aliens. "Nearly one out of every ten births in the United States is to an illegal alien mother," the researcher notes. "This accounts for about 42 percent of all births to immigrants, and again, one out of ten births in the entire country." And unless the U.S. changes its immigration policies, Camarota says, those percentages are likely to go even higher in the future. [Chad Groening]

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