OUR COLUMNISTS WorldCom's Ebbers Gets 25 Years ... Is There a More Christian Way? Commentary by Matt Friedeman America is a long way from devising sentences that take real justice to heart. Until we do, however, we only hurt ourselves. And, in this case, we destroy a man who could still contribute much, given the opportunity. NARAL: The Finer Points of Vulgarity Commentary by Jane Jimenez What better way to let the public know what NARAL stands for than to throw a party and invite everyone you know to "Screw Abstinence." 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.

...Another nation has now officially joined the ranks of those few countries in the world that have legalized same-sex "marriage," bringing their number to four -- The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and now Canada. The Toronto-based Globe and Mail newspaper says the Canadian Senate erupted in a loud cheer last night as Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act, was passed by a vote of 47-21, thereby approving the legalization of homosexual marriage nationwide. Many Christians in Canada have expressed concern that pastors and churches will now face increasing pressures to restrict their comments about homosexuality. [Fred Jackson]

...Pro-family forces across the U.S. are warning about the dangers of a bill introduced in Congress that would grant special rights to homosexuals. Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute says the effort is being spearheaded by members of Congress who want the support of the homosexual community and its big money. "Liberal congressmen have now introduced a bill adding 'sexual orientation' specifically to federal workplace protection," the pro-family spokesman says. "This would be the first time, if it passes, that Congress has created a special civil-rights category for sexual orientation." This is a dangerous bill, Knight contends, and he feels its prospects for passage are difficult to evaluate. "Right now, with the ongoing war on terror and the publicity surrounding the president's judicial nominations," he notes, "I don't see a lot of legislation like this advancing -- although sometimes it's under cover of big events that homosexuals and their media and legislative allies tend to push their agenda through." Knight says pro-family advocates are going to keep "a very close eye on this bill." If the legislation passes, he adds, it could set America on a downward spiral into depravity and, meanwhile, open the floodgates to all sorts of special rights groups. [Bill Fancher]

...President George W. Bush's administration is being praised for its continued stand against the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. Population Research Institute vice president Joe D'Agostino says the UNFPA supports abortion as a form of population control, a charge the organization denies. However, he notes, "The fact is the UNFPA openly operates in Communist China, which as a one-child policy or a two-child policy for families in rural areas, and forces women all over the country to have only one or two children, generally speaking. Otherwise [those women] face fines, loss of employment, and other disabilities -- and oftentimes, therefore, they're forced to have abortions or even be sterilized to prevent them from having more children." D'Agostino maintains that the UNFPA subsidizes these practices and U.S. law prohibits the use of tax dollars for that kind of abortion program. [Bill Fancher]

...A pro-life advocate contends that Senator Arlen Specter does not represent the values of the Republican Party because he favors embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR). To Joe Starrs of the American Life League, ESCR is nothing more than an unproven and unnecessary experimental process that destroys human life. He says this kind of research has failed to produce a single cure for any medical condition or even any genuine promise of a potential cure. That is why Starrs has a hard time understanding why people like Senator Arlen Specter are so angry that federal funding of ESCR is limited. Specter is a member of the GOP, the pro-lifer points out, a party which claims to champion respect for life. However, Specter's record on the sanctity of human life is "dismal," Starrs says, so he is not surprised the senator personally favors ESCR. However, the American Life League spokesman adds, "I am surprised that he isn't trying to support his president. I think it's extremely disappointing." Apparently, Starrs asserts, Specter has joined the likes of Nancy Reagan and the late Christopher Reeve in using a personal situation to lobby for the destruction of human embryos, supposedly to advance medical knowledge. [Rusty Pugh]

...The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is calling on the White House to formally protest the outrageous demands made by a former Mexican foreign minister. Jorge Castaneda told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Mexican government will not cooperate with border security unless the United States gives amnesty to all Mexicans living in the U.S. now, agrees to admit five million more Mexicans in the next 10 years, and gives massive increase of U.S. aid to his country. Ira Mehlman of FAIR says Castaneda's comments reflect the arrogant attitude of his government. "He's not the current foreign minister of Mexico," Mehlman says, "and as such, he is speaking as a private citizen. But nevertheless he was President Fox's foreign minister earlier on in his administration, and ... he does reflect the attitudes in Mexico City, that America's immigration policy is for them to decide, not for us to decide." But the immigration reform advocate says the Senate committee members' response to Castaneda's comments was even more disconcerting. "You would think that members of the United States Senate would react to it and at least chastise or castigate the guy for making those kinds of outrageous demands. Instead they just sort of let it slide." Mehlman believes the U.S. Senate continues to demonstrate a mentality that favors open borders, much as many immigration reform advocates feel President George W. Bush does. [Chad Groening]

...The head of the Presbyterian Church USA says entering the country illegally "should never mean a death penalty." Church Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase says this summer's unusually hot weather in the Arizona desert, with the temperature at times over 120 degrees, has raised the death toll from heat and dehydration. The Border Patrol says it has found more than a dozen bodies of illegal immigrants in southern Arizona's deserts since Friday. Ufford-Chase says he and other Christians have set up water stations in areas where immigrants have died. He says church groups also are sending out rescue teams to provide food, water and medical care. [AP]

...A federal judge has ruled that a Louisiana teacher did not violate a prior agreement banning prayer in school when she held a before-school Bible club and led students in a silent prayer following the Pledge of Allegiance. The American Civil Liberties Union had filed a motion to have the teacher held in contempt. But Judge Ginger Berrigan said the agreement between the Tangipahoa Parish School Board and the ACLU does not "prohibit all prayer on school property." Berrigan said it "only prohibits religious invocations at athletic events, prayers offered over the public address system, and prayer during school assemblies." [AP]

...A pro-Israel mobilization rally took place yesterday in New York City and other cities across the U.S. as part of a global effort to stop the so-called "disengagement plan" being promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. That plan will force 10,000 Israeli Jewish men, women, and children from their homes, schools, and synagogues. Esther Levens, founder and CEO of the Unity Coalition for Israel, says concessions by that nation to the Palestinian "terrorists" will result in disaster, not peace. "President Bush is talking about a Palestinian state just as terror still reigns supreme in the Palestinian Authority," she says. "And [Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman] Mahmoud Abbas has been a complete disappointment in terms of trying to rein in the terror. So we don't see any advance in terms of the Palestinians being willing to go along with the idea of peace." According to Levin, the whole idea of the Palestinian state and Israeli concessions is basically "one side giving and the other side taking." She says the current Israeli government has no right to give land away that rightfully belongs to the Jews. [Rusty Pugh]

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