The Point

• "The Establishment's Palin Panic"
• "Korea's population crisis"
• "Letter to John Calvin"
• "Chinese baby girls sold for adoption"

What is this?

Justice Fellowship president Pat Nolan is quoted in this article about Sen. Jim Webb's efforts to reform the criminal justice system.

What is this?

As Frank Schaeffer continues his quest to distance himself from conservatism and evangelicalism, his tone grows ever shriller:

What are the Republicans in Congress and the other "respectable" leaders on the far right -- from Focus on the Family's James Dobson to Rush Limbaugh, from Laura Ingraham to the leaders of the NRA -- doing to stop the right-wing domestic wave of terrorism exploding in the aftermath of President Barack Obama's election? I ask this as a former evangelical right-wing and "pro-life" leader who quit the right and the Republicans in disgust over their extremism. . . .

There's a biblical story about the stoning to death of St. Stephen, where the yet-to-be-converted-apostle Paul didn't throw the deadly stones himself but stood holding the coats of the people doing the killing. Similarly, the right-wing leadership, are "holding the coats" of present and future violent actors. These coat-holders sow the seeds of hate with their words, then pretend horror when those words are taken seriously.

Here's what I don't get: If Schaeffer truly believes that the language of conservative leaders is inflammatory, and that inflammatory language leads to violence, then why is he using inflammatory language himself?

What is this?

Well, maybe you have, but I'd never heard it before the local country station played it the other day, in honor of Independence Day. Enjoy, and have a happy Fourth!

What is this?

• "NKorea fires missile; launch toward US feared"
• "Post Publisher Cancels Plans for Off-the-Record 'Salons'"
• "Facebook's Easy Virtue"

What is this?

At the New York Times, in a symposium on The Most Annoying & Pathetic Governor Ever, and just under our own Chuck Colson's contribution, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach opines thusly:

The paradox of American evangelicals is that they are Christian on the one hand and political conservatives on the other with utterly opposing views of redemption. Christians believe that no one is blameless and all must therefore ride the coattails of a perfect being into heaven. But conservatives espouse the gospel of personal accountability. The state cannot save them. Man must earn his bread by the sweat of his brow and not by welfare alone.

Is he right? I don’t think so.

This notion that those of us who are both evangelical Christians and political conservatives have incompatible views on redemption is to misunderstand redemption. Or so it seems to me. 

Redemption relates to our standing with God, and is the foundation of the discussion about Salvation. If Governor Sanford is indeed a believer, then nothing he has done in this affair—no matter how destructive and stupid—affects his relationship with God. He is saved once and for all. He is redeemed.

What is this?

Following up on Stephen's post, as the resident South Carolinian on the Point, I’ve been trying to find the right words since news of our governor’s deplorable behavior became public last week. Everyone knows by now that Mark Sanford is carrying on an adulterous affair with a woman in Argentina, that he sneaked away over Father’s Day weekend like he was part of some cloak-and-dagger spy drama, and that he resurfaced, tearful but resolute on keeping his seat in the State House, willing to spill the sordid details of his story to any reporter who will listen.

Asked about whether he will resign as governor, Sanford pointed to the Biblical example of King David, who engaged in an adulterous affair with Bathsheba. When Bathsheba wound up pregnant, David conspired to cover it all up, eventually murdering Bathsheba’s husband.

What the governor remembers about King David’s story from his Sunday school days is that David continued to rule as king and that, in spite of his failures, God restored David.

The governor seems to have missed or forgotten two key elements to David’s story. First, David was repentant. After Nathan the prophet confronted David through a parable, David wrote, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51: 3, 4, 10 ESV).

The governor has done a lot of confessing over the last week, some of it probably best left between him and God and his wife instead of broadcast for all the world to hear. But what is noticeably absent from his speech since last Tuesday is repentance. The governor says he wants his four sons to see redemption played out in his life, but Paul told the Corinthian church that “godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (2 Cor 7:10 NIV). Governor Sanford seems sorry only that he got caught, that he put his staff in an awkward situation, and that he can’t be with his mistress.

What is this?

• "For 'Modern Gals,' Religion as Off-the-Rack Therapy"
• "Reverse discrimination ruling leaves confusion"
• "Evangelical concern for Jon and Kate"
• "Partnership rights in place for gay couples by end of year [in Ireland]"
• "Review of India's gay-sex laws"
• "The Woman in the Picture"
• "When Love Turns to Scandal"
• "Obama reaffirms support for gay-rights activism"
• "Pride Parades, Mark Sanford and 'Fear and Ignorance'"
• "Jackson, Sanford and weirdness"
• "How God Converted an Atheist"

What is this?

The world has a place for dreamers. They are often the ones who entertain us and inspire us with their art, writings, and music. On occasion, the public square needs the vision that sometimes dreamers can provide. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of racial equality in the U.S. comes to mind.

But not South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's form of dreaming. After listening to his recent Associated Press interview, followed by the reaction of many of his fellow Republicans in the Palmetto State's Senate, the disconnect between reality and Sanford's continued dreaminess about his Argentine affair has gone beyond morally repugnant to...well, what's the word?

Chuck Colson said recently in a BreakPoint commentary that where he finally ended up on this matter was bewilderment. That captures it well. Because with every public utterance since his return from South America last week, Governor Sanford shows himself unfit for duty. He can't help himself, it seems, as he treats us all to an incredible emotional gushing that says to one and all, "He isn't over her yet."

He calls the matter a "love story," not just an affair. Is this for his Argentine friend's eyes, just in case she is able to read The State newspaper online? He says that he is "trying to fall in love again" with his wife, Jenny, whose own public statements have been as positively extraordinary lately as her husband's comments have been abysmal. Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post--no conservative--says that Jenny Sanford has finally given America a new role model for wronged spouses: "neither enabler nor victim."

Before anyone in our romance-saturated culture gets the idea that dreamy Mark is to be pitied or admired for his clandestine love affair, let us first remember its cost to many: his sons now have a national laughingstock for a father--and may well have lost their family as they have known it. 

What is this?

Our own Pat Nolan is extensively quoted in this column by National Review's Kathryn Lopez on the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission report.

Churches have played no small role in the disinfecting process already. These dark crimes came out of the shadows when churches got involved, Nolan emphasizes: “Churches made it a moral issue. In a civilized society we cannot allow this to go on.”

What is this?

Intercollegiate Studies Institute is offering a small quiz to test you on your civics knowledge. It has questions like this:

1)   Which of the following are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence?
A. life, liberty, and property
B. honor, liberty, and peace
C. liberty, health, and community
D. life, respect, and equal protection
E. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

Take it and see if you're smart than the average bear--oh, jumping jehosophat--I mean person. 

What is this?

You lovers of literature might want to check out my recent piece on John Milton's "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent" over at the Wilberforce Forum's new website. While you're there, check out some more of the most recent pieces, such as this and this.

(Image courtesy of The Wilberforce Project)

What is this?

I couldn't help but think, after reading a recent BreakPoint commentary, of another famous fly in American history. You science fiction/horror film buffs know what fly I mean: This one.

For those not familiar with The Fly (spoiler alert), it's about a scientist named Andre who is attempting to perfect a teleportation machine. Convinced that it will work, after experiments teleporting the family cat and a rodent, he decides to teleport himself. Unbeknownst to Andre, a common house fly flies into the cabin. The horrifying result: Both Andre and the fly became hybrids. The scientist has the fly's head, arm/claw, and leg, while the fly has a human head (although, bizarrely, both the scientist and the fly appear to have at least a portion of the scientist's brains).

In the end, the scientist asks his wife to help him commit suicide, which she does. But  what about the hybrid fly? The scientist's brother, Francois, and Inspector Charas, who is investigating Andre's death, are out in the garden. As Wikipedia puts it, they "hear a tiny voice coming from a nearby spider's web. They make the dreadful discovery of a tiny creature with Andre's emaciated head and arm with the body of a fly, screaming 'Help me! Help me!' as it is about to be devoured by a large spider. The inspector, horrified by the sight, mercifully crushes the prey and the predator with a stone, putting the fly out of its misery."

Francois (played by Vincent Price) tells the inspector that he is as guilty of murder as Andre's wife, who helped Andre commit suicide. Both of them killed a human being.

The same argument cannot be made for Obama's fly, who was....just a fly, destined to die within 20-30 days, anyway. Absolutely no moral equivalence with humans. I'm glad Obama killed it--flies carry germs.

(Image © 20th Century Fox)

What is this?

• "NKorea threatens US; world anticipates missile"
• "The Political Enclave That Dare Not Speak Its Name"
• "I'm Tired of Sex Scandals. Aren't You?"
• "Arab Activists Watch Iran and Wonder: 'Why Not Us?'"
• "Gay DNC Fundraiser Filled with Frustration: 'No One Is Happy Now'"
• "The boy who never grew up: Michael Jackson, 1958-2009"
• "Poverty of thought"

What is this?

Last week, I posted my response to Emmie, who, in the valley of decision regarding what to do with an unwanted pregnancy, left the valley for an arena of opinions. She decided to terminate the pregnancy.

I joined the arena and was sincere in what I said, though I regret understating the joy it is to have a daughter. But several of the claims and conclusions in this series continue to grieve me. I will focus only on three:

Claim #1 (by Emmie): I will do good because of my [bad] abortion. “If I get my degree then maybe the path it will take me on will lead me to work on women’s issues. Maybe one day I’ll make a million dollars and start a scholarship program for pregnant graduate students. I can’t believe that nothing good can come of this, I know I’ll do something right one of these days.”

Emmie clearly does not believe abortion is a harmless act. She is already planning to try to atone for it in the future. It might ease her conscience, but I'm afraid it will do little more.

What is this?

• "How to Make It in the Afterlife"
• "Most Want Health Reform but Fear Its Side Effects"
• "Who's Calling Who Unconvincing?"

What is this?

That's what ABC is asking this morning. What do you think?

(Image © ABC News)

What is this?

Gov. Mark Sanford's press conference yesterday reminded me (as sex scandals often do) of a quote from Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre:

"I had not, it seems, the originality to chalk out a new road to shame and destruction, but trode the old track with stupid exactness not to deviate an inch from the beaten centre."

Speaking of Sanford, posters at The Corner are arguing, here and here, over Chuck Colson's definition of integrity and how it applies to this situation.

(Image © Str/Reuters/Corbis)

What is this?

• "Gov. Sanford admits to extramarital affair"
• "Giving the green light to suicide"
• "Huckabee and Stewart on abortion"
• "Tenn. Planned Parenthood loses gov't funding"
• "I Would Die for You: Life and death of a 15-year-old missionary"
• "Selflessness Amid Tragedy Offers Solace"
• "Ideas Online, Yes, but Some Not So Presidential"
• "The uninsured: A bogus excuse for trillions in new welfare spending"

What is this?

The Guardian is reporting that the Iranian government has canceled Neda Agha Soltan's funeral and forced her family out of their home.

(Image courtesy of Flickr/New York Daily News)

What is this?

CNN has the latest from Tehran.

What is this?

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch reports that three missionaries in Yemen have been killed, possibly by a former Gitmo prisoner. If this has been reported by the mainstream media, I've missed it. In any case, such news throws a dark shadow over the president's plan to close Gitmo and release dangerous men back into the world.

What is this?

• "Bad check?"
• "Planning Commission OKs Islamic Saudi Academy"
• "Catholic Nun Appointed Dean of Presbyterian Seminary"
• "Get a Life, Holden Caulfield"

What is this?

What is this?

When Marilyn Shirley dares to remember, she can still smell the prison guard who assaulted her. While locked behind bars for a non-violent drug offense, this mother and grandmother was brutally raped by one of the prison staff. Her horror only intensified when the man spat into her ear, “Who are you going to tell? Do you think people will believe you, a no-good criminal, or me, an upstanding prison guard?”

Marilyn’s story is shared by over 60,000 prisoners. Men and women who were raped by prison officials or other inmates. Men and women whose bodies and minds are forever scarred by the most horrific and degrading attacks.

Today, however, these victims are hearing a message of hope. After years of interviews and study, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission is releasing its report and standards to the public. The report will shine light on the sexual attacks that occur throughout our prisons and jails, and the standards will hold prisons accountable to prevent, detect, and report rape.

Prison rape is not a joke. It’s the worst kind of assault against God’s image bearers. It’s time for the court of public opinion to call our prisons to account and say “no more.” The Commission’s work gives us a powerful tool to do this.

Justice Fellowship director Pat Nolan is a member of the Commission and has worked incredibly hard to make the report and standards a reality.He is in Washington, D.C., today to participate in press conferences announcing the study’s release.To get updates throughout the day, visit Justice Fellowship’s Twitter Page.

To read the full report, visit the website of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. Also, visit Justice Fellowship’s Prison Rape Issue page.

What is this?

• "Senate Backs Apology for Slavery"
• "Obama Closes Doors on Openness"
• "Jon & Kate + 8 Minus Sophie"

What is this?

With the eyes of the world focused on Iran, a certain movie opening this week has suddenly become timelier than ever. Go here to read about the connection between The Stoning of Soraya M. and events going on in Iran right now. And check back later this week for Chuck Colson's review of the film.

(Image courtesy of The Wrap)

What is this?

I've been following the events in Iran with fascination, all the more because a friend of mine just returned from a mission trip there. As she pointed out, with such a minuscule percentage of the Iranian population professing Christ (0.2%, according to Wikipedia), the young people who are risking their lives for the sake of freedom are, in most cases, risking much, much more--their eternal destiny and a life apart from God. Pray for the Iranians to know the true freedom of the Gospel.

One of the reasons we know so much about what has been happening in Iran this last week is technology. The kinds of things that become useless time wasters for us (who cares what Ashton Kutcher ate for lunch?) are the very things that have allowed news of the post-election chaos in Iran to make it past government censors and a foreign media ban. NBC Nightly News ran a piece last night on several Iranian youth who are attending school here in the U.S. and are working hard to keep their peers back home online despite government bans.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

At the same time, over at the State Department, a leftover from the Bush administration has been the driving force behind keeping Twitter online and working with cell phone providers to develop technology that would allow people to access Twitter without Internet service.

I guess this Time piece on geeks inheriting the earth has finally come true. If nothing else, they may help to make the earth a more hospitable place for the people of Iran. We can all hope.

What is this?

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that it's up to the states to protect inmates' access to DNA evidence. 

By refusing to enshrine post-conviction DNA testing as a Constitutional right, the five judges in the majority left the fate of William Osborne squarely in the hands of a lower Alaskan Court. Osborne, who was convicted of rape 15 years ago, had requested DNA testing on a condom found at the scene of his alleged crime. The Alaskan government refused.

In some states, people like Osborne would fare well. Forty-six states have laws that govern inmates' ability to request testing of crime scene DNA after they are convicted. But four states, including Alaska, have no such rules. And even some states that do have laws still limit prisoners' DNA access.

The reasons for denying DNA testing usually center on the price of testing and the harm of clogging the judicial system with frivolous requests. These things are certainly worthy to consider. Yet, I have to wonder, should cost and efficiency trump justice? Shouldn't knowing the perversity and sloppiness of human nature cause us to err on the side of caution? 

God explicitly requires us to do justice -- not to save money or time. And He promises dire consequences for those who fail to acquit the innocent. 

What is this?

Glad we got that settled. Because as we all know, brigadier generals sit in front of soap operas eating bon-bons all day to get their titles.

What is this?

(Adapted from my blog The Living Rice.)

The news clip below, from a local Filipino newscast, shows Imelda Marcos weeping because, according to her, she is poor and out of funds. She says that her only source of income is her late husband’s life pension and she’s asking the Philippine government for pity. 

It’s interesting to see how the widow of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who gained worldwide notoriety in the '80s through her lavish lifestyle and 3000 pairs of shoes (Newsweek listed her in 2009 as one of the "Greediest People of All Time") has turned around, pleading with the country she and her husband once robbed of wealth. Ironically, the begging ex-first lady, as you can see in the video, is more glammed up than the rest of us. It reminded me of what Jesus said: where our treasure is, there our hearts and thoughts will be also (Matthew 6:21). Makes one ponder, if I were to lose all my money and material possessions today, how would I respond?

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

What is this?

• "George Tiller, Abortion, and Moral Clarity"
• "The Mr. Potato Head Constitution" (via Wittingshire)
• "PBS Blesses Old Religious Shows, but Bans the New"
• "Have we given up on the two-parent family?"
• "Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer"
• "President Obama's Adams quote" (via The Corner)
• "Marilyn Monroe and the Cheapening of Women" (sexual themes)
• "Don't Worry, the Post-apocalyptic Costner Stuff Is Still a Few Months Away"

What is this?

A recent post from Jill Stanek pointed me towards this piece by William Saletan on Dr. George Tiller. Saletan is trying to argue that pro-life arguments don't hold together -- but it's his own arguments that strike me as being on very shaky ground:

To me, Tiller was brave. His work makes me want to puke. But so does combat, the kind where guts are spilled and people choke on their own blood. I like to think I love my country and would fight for it. But I doubt I have the stomach to pull the trigger, much less put my life on the line. . . .

The people who do late-term abortions are the ones who don't flinch. They're like the veterans you sometimes see in war documentaries, quietly recounting what they faced and did. You think you're pro-choice. You think marching or phone-banking makes you an activist. You know nothing. There's you, and then there are the people who work in the clinics. And then there are the people who use the forceps. And then there are the people who use the forceps nobody else will use. At the end of the line, there's George Tiller.

He's right about one thing: The military does a dirty job, a job that needs to be done, but one that many of us know we're not strong or brave enough to do.

But the last time I checked, we hadn't declared war on the unborn.

At least, not officially.

(Image courtesy of Mark Mallett)

What is this?

President Obama thwarted the attack while he was conducting an interview on CNBC. At first he tried diplomacy by saying, "Get out of here." When that didn't work, he resorted to violence, while the camera was still rolling.

Okay, it really wasn't a terrorist attack, but the way mainstream media is fawning all over the President, you'd think that's what he did.

But not everyone is happy. The PETA folks were in shock. They couldn't believe their admired President had killed a helpless animal. They thought he should have continued his diplomacy effort.

Of course, the Democrats blamed President Bush for introducing the fly into the studio, while Nancy Pelosi, in a hastily called news conference, blamed the CIA for lying to her about whether the fly had any WMDs on it. She also said Americans don't torture flies.*

Despite all of the hoopla, President Obama was quite pleased with himself and said, "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it?"

So look out, Bin Laden. We have a President that will smack you down.

*Not really.

What is this?

• "Just Make Stuff Up"
• "Racist and Ridiculous" (profanity in comments; via La Shawn Barber)
• "The White House Fires a Watchdog"
• "The Limits of Control"
• "How Late-Night Comedy Slipped into the Same, Smug Routine" (via The Bleat)
• "Climate of hatred: Prominent scientist refused service due to skepticism" (via The Corner)

What is this?

A good example of both the speed of the news cycle, and the President's schizophrenic thinking on social issues: When I found and collected this article this morning, it was titled "AP source: Benefits for govt workers' gay partners." When I clicked on it just now to see if there were any updates, it was titled "Obama fends off criticism from gay supporters." The odd thing is, both headlines are true.

(Image © AFP)

What is this?

You may have heard that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada) has resigned his Senate leadership post after confessing to an extramarital affair. You may not have heard about this, from a 1999 article:

Christian politicians and evangelical leaders commonly follow an unspoken rule not to meet behind closed doors with women staff members or travel alone with them. The Rev. Billy Graham, for example, has famously refused to be alone in a room with any woman except his wife since he married her in the 1940s.

Rep. Steve Largent (R-Okla.), a Christian conservative, insists a male staff member is present whenever he meets with a woman, his spokesman said. John Ensign, who is running for senate in Nevada will not be alone in a car with a woman.

To make that kind of commitment to purity and faithfulness, and still to fall into sin -- to me, that seems the saddest part of the whole sad story.

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12, NKJV)

(Image © MSNBC)

What is this?

For months, I've been thinking that not only will the sun finally set on the British Empire, it will set on Britain itself. The country seems to be losing its mind: from the Archbishop of Canterbury suggesting that British Muslims be able to live under Sharia Law, to a new law that will force religious organizations--including churches--to hire people who do not share their beliefs.

But now, I see a sprout of hope--and good old common sense. 

(Image © James Fraser for the Telegraph)

What is this?

Naysayers are predicting the end of Christianity in America, and since their pessimism is repeated incessantly, many people have come to believe it. Is their prediction true? World magazine editor Marvin Olasky says the predictions don't match reality. Find out why.

What is this?

• "Iran: Election Aftermath and World Reaction"
• "America's 'Bermuda solution' angers Britain"
• "Obama Admin Hearts DOMA (For Now). Do Gays Still Heart Obama?"
• "Is My Marriage Gay?"
• "U.S. Births Hint at Bias for Boys in Some Asians"

What is this?

The blogosphere is a-Twitter (sorry) with the news that ABC News will be going all-out to publicize President Obama's health-care plan next week. Unprecedented level of access and information-sharing, or ethical violation? What do you say?

(Image courtesy of the Drudge Report; H/T Caffeinated Thoughts)

What is this?

I don't know why I, a longtime resident of the D.C. area, never heard about Sen. Tom Coburn's "famous Star Wars-themed STD presentation [to Capitol Hill interns] in 2005," but I feel gypped.

At any rate, I hope the Senate Ethics Committee can get this dispute regarding these lectures (over pizza!?) resolved pretty soon. Coburn knows his stuff, and the information he has to share just might save lives.

(Image © Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century-Fox)

What is this?

Not in Washington, D.C., where the Board of Elections and Ethics shot down a proposed referendum on same-sex marriage. Apparently, the consent of the governed should play a role only when it can be ensured beforehand that the governed will vote the politically correct way. Details (including Bishop Harry Jackson's plan to appeal the ruling) are here.

What is this?

• "Ukraine's other crisis: Weak currency, cheap flights spur 'sex tourism'"
• "Psychobabble child of divorce"
• "Outrageous Mercy"
• "'16 & Pregnant' Deftly Plumbs the Parent Trap"
• "News Finds Fresh Niche on Twitter/Not Safe for Work"
• "Weekly Standard may have been shooter target"
• "Beach Buddies"

What is this?

That's right. The world's climate is changing, always has been -- just, this time, not in the direction predicted by the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner. As reported by the Telegraph, cooler, not warmer weather is causing crop shortages and higher prices around the globe. For instance,

In Canada and northern America summer planting of corn and soybeans has been way behind schedule, with the prospect of reduced yields and lower quality. Grain stocks are predicted to be down 15 per cent next year. US reserves of soya – used in animal feed and in many processed foods – are expected to fall to a 32-year low.

The situation is similar for China, Africa, and Europe.

So what's the culprit? Something that was identified 200 years ago when "the great astronomer William Herschel observed a correlation between wheat prices and sunspots. When the latter were few in number, he noted, the climate turned colder and drier, crop yields fell and wheat prices rose. In the past two years, sunspot activity has dropped to its lowest point for a century."

Hmmm. Looks like the science "was in," the debate over, two centuries ago. Had the Nobel been established back then, the Peace prize might have gone to an astronomer.

It is a sad irony that in our efforts to fix a problem that doesn't exist -- man-made global warming -- the food situation around the globe could very well be exacerbated as "the millions of acres of farmland [are] now being switched from food crops to biofuels" to reduce man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

(Image © Reuters)

What is this?

Liberal columnist and talk-show host Bonnie Erbe suggests that we "round up" purveyors of hate speech before they cause violence:

Not only have we had three hate crime murders within the last two weeks ([Stephen] Johns, as noted above, Dr. George Tiller a week ago last Sunday, and Pvt. William Andrew Long by an American-born Muslim convert outside a recruiting station just before that.)

Now we have this quote from the so-called Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who used to be President Obama's pastor. Hate comes from among all peoples and all religions. He said this about his lack of communication with Barack Obama since he's been elected president, according to the AP:

"Them Jews ain't going to let him talk to me. I told my baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when he's out of office," Wright told the Daily Press of Newport News following a Tuesday night sermon at the 95th annual Hampton University Ministers' Conference.

It's not enough to prosecute these murders as murders. They are hate-motivated crimes and each of these men had been under some sort of police surveillance prior to their actions. Isn't it time we started rounding up promoters of hate before they kill?

I've been as sickened and disturbed as anyone by the incidents Erbe describes, as you all know, but I wonder if she's thought this through. "Round them up" and then do . . . what? Put them in jail for thoughtcrime? I thought that sort of thing went against everything that the left held dear. (If you'd told me back during the presidential campaign, when we were all being told to pay no attention to the man behind the pulpit, that a prominent liberal journalist would soon advocate his arrest, I'd have done a spit-take all over my keyboard.)

We need to take steps against the encouragement of violence in our society; there's no question about that. But the steps Erbe advocates would lead us in a very dangerous direction.

What is this?

• "Study: Megachurch crowds tend to be younger"
• "Pastor's comments on Tiller 'unbiblical'"
• "The Virtual Public Square"
• "Why aren't women happy? Who knows?"
• "Green Beret Loses Race and Wins a Battle"

What is this?

On what would have been Anne Frank's 80th birthday, the Holocaust Memorial Museum will present the new play Anne & Emmett, "an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, teenage victims of anti-Semitism and racism, respectively."

The play would have premiered Wednesday, if not for the murder of a black Holocaust Museum security guard by an anti-Semitic, racist killer.

What is this?

Since I'm attending my older son's college graduation this week, this news item caught my eye. I watched the video, and laughed. I was pleased that the school principal showed respect, even though he was clearly taken by surprise by students loudly and gleefully (you can see some of them grinning in anticipation just before they disrupt their graduation ceremony) reciting the Lord's Prayer.

The ACLU had bulled the school into forbidding graduates to pray or say anything of a religious nature at their ceremony. The result: the ACLU ended up getting far more religious speech than they would have had they not attempted to shut religious graduates up in the first place.

The ACLU, which always gets its knickers in a twist when it doesn't get its own way, was spluttering with outrage at this unseemly outburst of free speech. However, their response to the noisy graduates (whose "crime" was, in effect, telling the ACLU where to get off) was disturbing. ACLU attorney Benjamin Stevenson said, "Something should have been done to stop the recitation of the Lord's Prayer." The recitation took, what--about 20 seconds? What did the guardians of free speech expect school authorities to do? Stand by with clubs just in case somebody said the wrong thing?

Kinda reminds you of the Gestapo, doesn't it?

What is this?

We're in the middle of what always seems to me like the most patriotic of seasons. Memorial Day was just a few weekends ago, this Sunday is Flag Day, and just a few weeks after that, we'll be eating watermelon and watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. As a card-carrying Daughter of the American Revolution, I couldn't be happier. Bring on the flag bunting and red, white and blue jello parfaits.

Getting me in the mood for the season is a book I picked up at the library. God in the Foxhole details dozens of stories from the frontlines of American conflicts. Author Charles Sasser (a Navy and Army veteran) includes anecdotes from the Gulf Wars, Somalia, Vietnam, Korea, the two World Wars, the Civil War, the Alamo, the Revolutionary War, and even the French and Indian War and King Philip's War (both fought on American soil before we were independent of those tea-taxing Brits). 

Included among the stories of ordinary and even anonymous soldiers are the stories of some not-so-anonymous men and women, including Sen. John McCain, Clara Barton, and George Washington.

Washington's story comes not from the Revolutionary War, but the French and Indian War, when he was a young colonel in the Redcoat army. During a battle to capture the French Fort Duquesne, Washington rallied an outnumbered Virginia regiment and left the battlefield unharmed--but with a coat full of bullet holes. Fifteen years later, in 1770, an Indian chief who, during that battle at Fort Duquesne, had assigned his best sharpshooters to fell the Redcoat who fought like an Indian caught up with Washington to tell his side of the story and to deliver a message:

...a power mightier far than we shielded you. Seeing you were under the special guardianship of the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you. I am old and soon shall be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in the land of shades; but ere I go, there is something bids me speak in the voice of prophecy. Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man [pointing at Washington] and guides his destinies. He will become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire. I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven and who can never die in battle.

Indeed, the Father of Our Country died in his bed in 1799 at the age of 67 after a sudden illness.

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