OUR COLUMNISTS Caring for Jesus, Caring for the Poor Commentary by Matt Friedeman There are some new billboards up in Sioux Falls and Mitchell, South Dakota, by some political partisans that, they say, are having the desired outcome. "Jesus cares for the poor -- So do we." The Gift of Fear Commentary by Jane Jimenez In its latest press release, SIECUS decries fear-based sex ed. Maybe SIECUS would do better to explain why it's afraid of fear. Ejected for Jesus Commentary by Brad Locke Be careful about nodding your head, folks. It may get you run off. And be careful about affirming biblical truths. It may get you run off, or worse -- gasp! -- you might offend someone and be labeled intolerant and hateful. 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? North Carolina Enacts a State Lottery Commentary by Mark Creech The Tarheel State has now entered the gambling business' world of vice and deception. Mark Creech of the North Carolina-based Christian Action League says only a miracle in the courts could possibly change matters.

...Seventy-eight senators voted their approval today of John G. Roberts as the next chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. About half of the Senate's Democrats voted against Roberts, many of them fearful the new chief justice could prove to be as conservative as Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. But Senate Judiciary Committee member John Cornyn of Texas says the "only surprise in this vote was that any Senator would vote against him." Roberts, says Cornyn, is "one of the most impressive and well-qualified nominees" ever nominated to the Supreme Court -- and "is probably better known to the Senate than any nominee in recent history." Roberts went to the White House on Thursday afternoon to be sworn in -- in time for the high court's next session, set to begin on Monday. Soon after Roberts is sworn in, President Bush is expected to announce his nominee to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring but has stated she will continue to serve until a successor is named. Conservatives are urging the president to nominate another individual who, like Roberts, is a strict constructionist. Senate Democrats, however, have made it clear they will oppose -- and possibly filibuster -- such a nomination. They are concerned that the balance of the court will be altered if another "swing-vote" judge like O'Connor is selected. O'Connor was the swing vote on many recent 5-4 decisions handed down by the high court. The final vote on Judge Roberts was 78-22. [Jody Brown]

...A Southern Baptist leader says a growing number of American Christians support Israel because they believe God gave "the promised land" to the Jews forever. The Reverend Richard Land told the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews that in the Bible, God also promises to bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse them. The rabbi who heads the group thanked Land for his message. Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein said many Jews fear that Christians only want to convert them and bring on the end times. Eckstein also announced that the Christian-Jewish fellowship is paying to move more than five-thousand east Indian tribesmen to Israel. Israeli religious officials recently declared that the tribe is a long-lost remnant of the ancient Jewish tribe of Manasseh. [AP]

...Dr. James Dobson is calling the grand jury indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "trumped-up, political witch-hunt." The Texas congressman was indicted yesterday (Wednesday) on a charge of conspiring to violate campaign fundraising laws, but he says he has done nothing wrong. Still, DeLay has stepped aside temporarily from his post as House majority leader. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, expects liberals to use the opportunity to "take a swipe" at DeLay, whom he describes as "one of America's leading advocates of family values." The Focus on the Family founder says he is confident DeLay will be exonerated of the charge. Cliff Kincaid of the group Accuracy in Media says the liberal news media has been salivating for this moment. He believes the liberal media are "going crazy" over the indictment because they want it to "cause turmoil in the Republican Party, and possibly somehow tarnish the image of President Bush." Kincaid says the partisan Democratic prosecutor has been after DeLay for years. Another critic says this just proves the old adage that prosecutors can "indict a ham sandwich if they want to." Kincaid says the indictment, which is just four pages in length, has little or no substance. [Jody Brown/Bill Fancher]

...The public policy group Concerned Women for America has received a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State to combat sex trafficking. The work will be done in conjunction with a coalition of more than 200 pro-family groups in Mexico known as Red Familia (Family Network). CWA's Dr. Janice Crouse explains the grant will enable those in the partnership to prepare Mexican leaders at the local level to "reach the most vulnerable populations of Mexico" and to "influence law enforcement and legislation" in the government. "Every trafficking statistic represents a person who can -- and must -- be rescued and restored," says Crouse. "We look forward to working with our Mexican partners to end the scourge of sex trafficking in our neighboring country." The specific project being funded under the grant involves follow-up on training delivered to Mexican leaders during a week-long session in April. [Jody Brown]

...A professor of science and philosophy has testified that "intelligent design" is a form of creationism that isn't based on scientific method. Michigan State University Professor Robert Pennock appeared on behalf of parents suing to stop Pennsylvania's Dover Area School District from mentioning intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. He said supporters of intelligent design do not offer evidence to support their idea. The statement that is read to ninth-graders does not mention either God or religion. One of the plaintiffs also testified that her 14-year-old daughter came home upset after classmates asked her, "Do you really think we came from monkeys?" Meanwhile, a Christian attorney says he finds it ironic that evolutionists attempt to "paint intelligent design theory with the creationist brush" when it is the evolutionists themselves who have the most in common with the creationists. [AP/Jody Brown]

...Parents should be aware that some U.S. children are choking themselves for fun, and sometimes the fun turns fatal. This increasing trend of activity is generally known as "suffocation games," but has a variety of specific names such as "blackout," "funky chicken," "space monkey," "flatliner," "tingling," and "suffocation roulette." All of these games are designed to induce a drug-like high, while some youth also play them to increase sexual pleasure. The games involve young people acting in groups or even alone to choke themselves as a means of experiencing what Ashraf Attalla refers to as "a mild to moderate state of euphoria" lasting 5 to 10 seconds. Attalla is a child psychiatrist at the Ridgeview Institute in Atlanta. "When they strangle themselves and then release the pressure, it creates a tingling sensation in their upper body, especially their arms and head. And they think it's cool," said Ralph Davis, sheriff of Fremont County, Idaho, where the death of a 10-year-old boy occurred due to a suffocation game. Such games have caused death or serious injuries among youth in at least nine states over the past few years. [AFA Journal]

...The founder of the Minuteman Project believes it will be a huge advantage for him to run as an Independent in his quest to win the congressional seat vacated by Republican Christopher Cox. Jim Gilchrist says there simply was not enough time for him to register as a Republican for the October 4 open primary in the 48th Congressional District of California. So the former CPA who started the Minuteman Project is running as a member of the American Independent Party. But Gilchrist realizes that if he gets to Congress, it may be advantageous to switch to the GOP. "I probably would lean towards that if I felt we could get the issues addressed more readily," the candidate explains. "I don't denounce the American Independent Party; I have a lot of respect for them. All the people I've met from the AIP are former Republicans who got tired of the Republican Party turning into the Democratic Party." And Gilchrist says a prominent Republican, Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado, has endorsed his Independent candidacy. Gilchrist claims that Tancredo, if faced with criticism from colleagues asking him why he was endorsing somebody out of the Republican Party, would like respond: "Because it's not about the party. It's about the policy." As an Independent, Gilchrist is guaranteed a spot on the December general election ballot if none of the 17 primary candidates receive 50 percent of the vote. [Chad Groening]

...A Maryland lawmaker doesn't think people should get too excited about the possibility that ethanol and other agriculture-based fuels will be the answer to America's long-term energy needs. Republican Roscoe Bartlett is a member of the House Small Business and Science committees. He has been holding seminars about the absolute necessity to transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Bartlett is cautious about getting too excited about ethanol and bio-diesel. "There is some caution relative to how much we can get from agriculture. You need to remember that tonight, 20 percent of the world will go to bed hungry -- and we are just barely able to keep our top soils now," he explains. The congressman adds that two prominent scientists believe that it costs too much energy to produce ethanol. "Right now an awful lot of energy from fossil fuels goes into the production of the corn and the production of the ethanol, and these two scientists believe that we use more fossil fuel energy to produce the ethanol than we get out of the ethanol," Bartlett says. "Now maybe we can do a little better than that, but it's not going to be a big positive." Still, Bartlett believes ethanol will remain an option for shedding America's dependence on oil. [Chad Groening]

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