The Supreme Court's split decision on the Ten Commandments continues to resonate. Justice Stephen G. Breyer was the swing vote in both the Texas and the Kentucky cases. Justice Breyer's reasoning will further confuse communities that wish to display religious monuments with historical significance - or is that historic monuments with religious significance? A possible solution might allow Justice Breyer, a Clinton appointee, to establish a 1-800 number that city governments can call to ask the fickle Justice if their display would be permissible. The difference between the two Commandment cases, according to Justice Breyer, was the intent behind the display.
In both cases Justice Breyer apparently read the minds of the people behind the displays and decided the Texas case was meant to be historical, while in Kentucky the only intent was to proselytize. It should be noted that in the Kentucky case a number of other documents, significant to lawmaking and the establishment of our country, were added to the display in question. By guessing the "intent" of the displayers, Justice Breyer turns displaying the Ten Commandments into a "thought crime" - where you can be punished for not what you do but what you intend to do!

In a narrowly drawn ruling, the Supreme Court struck down Ten Commandments displays in courthouses Monday, holding that two exhibits in Kentucky crossed the line between separation of church and state because they promoted a religious message.

The 5-4 decision, first of two seeking to mediate the bitter culture war over religion's place in public life, took a case-by-case approach to this vexing issue. In the decision, the court declined to prohibit all displays in court buildings or on government property.

The justices left themselves legal wiggle room on this issue, however, saying that some displays - like their own courtroom frieze - would be permissible if they're portrayed neutrally in order to honor the nation's legal history.

The measure passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187 to 147. The bill, part of the ruling Socialists' aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each others' property.

The bill is now law. The Senate, where conservatives hold the largest number of seats, rejected the bill last week. But it is an advisory body and final say on legislation rests with the Congress of Deputies.

After the final tally was announced, gay and lesbian activists watching from the spectator section of the ornate chamber cried, cheered, hugged, waved to lawmakers and blew them kisses.

Several members of the conservative opposition Popular Party, which was vehemently opposed to the bill, shouted: "This is a disgrace." Those in favor stood and clapped.

The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two countries that allow gay marriage nationwide. Canada's House of Commons passed legislation Tuesday that would legalize gay marriage; its Senate is expected to pass the bill into law by the end of July.

Wednesday night, as the clock neared midnight, members of the Texas House voted 77 to 70 to pass House Bill 2 — a comprehensive, multi-faceted omnibus of academic and financial reforms for public education.
The 13 hour debate posed cliffhangers, heart-stoppers, and surprises. In the first hour, a substitute was raised for the bill and the substitute failed by a single vote cast by the speaker. All key provisions were vehemently challenged but stoutly defended.

Lost in the debate, however, was an innovative provision that added flexibility to the certification requirements for principals and superintendents; this would have allowed districts to utilize the talents of qualified individuals in the business community who lacked the sheepskin from schools of education.

A surprising gain for teachers and taxpayers was a provision to cap superintendents’ pay relative to the highest pay of teachers in the district. And districts had a win, gaining an exemption from complying with unfunded mandates (an exemption that promises rich opportunities for litigation in future days).
Next stop for HB 2 is the Senate, and if approved, it moves to conference committee where it could be strengthened by the Senate’s version, SB 2. The fate of HB 2 should be determined by July 20th, the last day of special session.
There are many reasons for Texans to be excited about the sweeping reforms promised by HB 2. If passed, this bill will jolt public schools with shock waves of a magnitude that could rival the education earthquake known as the "Perot Reforms" of the early 1980’s—recasting what students learn, transforming how schools operate, and expanding public involvement in schools.
 

Key provisions of HB 2 include:

• Increased equity for school district funding and a check on Robin Hood that caps how much property wealthy districts have to pay to less wealthy districts
• A merit-based pay system for Texas’ teachers
• A benchmark for effective school district resource allocation—requiring districts to devote 65 percent of operating expenditures to direct instructional activities
• New high school assessments that will establish post-secondary readiness as the standard for student performance
• Swifter intervention in low-performing schools and authorization for the education commissioner to employ private sector management to turn around failing schools
• A uniform start date for the school year that will ease student transitions and family schedules
• A uniform November election date for school board trustees that will boost public engagement in school decision-making

A theologian and author George Weigel sees the recent two-nation rejection vote of the European Union constitution in a positive light, saying it slowed down the rush to establish a more secular Europe. But he warns the U.S. to take note of the effect increased secularism can have on a nation's traditional family structure.
Weigel says Europe is in a dangerous spiritual and population decline -- one that would be accelerated with the secular landscape that the EU constitution would create in its current form, and ignore the continent's 1,500-year Christian history. 
Weigel says the biggest practical issue of the continent's crisis is a dropping birth rate. He describes that downturn in a very graphic way, saying Europe "is de-populating itself in numbers not seen since the Black Death in the fourteenth century."
Weigel believes the population decline is caused by a spiritual emptiness that is removing the family unit from the social base and bringing about the disintegration of traditional families. He cites some specific forecasts.
"It's bad enough that Spain will lose approximately 25 percent of its population by 2050, or that Germany by that time will lose the equivalent in population of the former East Germany. What really brings it home is to think that by 2050, 60 percent of Italians will not know from personal experience what a brother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle, or a cousin is."
In addition, the theologian predicts the population drop will eventually lead to a financial and fiscal crisis as the continent is unable to provide workers for its economies. That, he says, would affect America and every other free market. He says it stems from the attempt to remove spiritual life from the social equation in government and every other arena. He cautions the United States to take note of what happens to a society that becomes primarily secular.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) approved a resolution Thursday calling on churches to investigate homosexual activism in schools.

Sixty-three Christian and pro-family organizations signed a statement in support of the resolution, which acknowledges that problems exist in many schools.

Diane Gramley, president of Pennsylvania's American Family Association, one of the original signatories, said schools must no longer be used as places of social re-engineering.

"This resolution is a clear message that homosexual activism within schools is a real problem," Gramley said, "and that we, who are concerned with the safety and well-being or our children, are going to take steps to protect them."

Cable And Satellite Choice Is Needed Now (June 24, 2005 Family Research Council)
Family Research Council wants constituents to stop subsidizing indecent and unwanted cable television programming. In an effort to end the subsidizing of unwanted and indecent television programs on cable, Family Research Council sent the following statement to its constituents:
If you had a choice, would you pay for something you never used? Would you pay for something that you actually found offensive? If you are like most people, your answer is NO!

Right now, when it comes to cable and satellite TV, you don't have a choice. But that could change through 'cable choice', which would allow you to order only those cable or satellite channels you want. Why should you be subsidizing the filth that is on MTV or other channels where sex, nudity, profanity, and blasphemy are standard fare? Concerned parents should not have to subsidize indecent channels to get the family-friendly programming that they want. The cable and satellite industry fears cable choice because, if consumers have the right to choose what they will pay for, few will order the channels that carry indecent material. Those channels will then not be profitable and may be dropped altogether. That's the power of a free market - trash gets dumped.

Today, fully 85 percent of all households in America have cable or satellite TV, and, believe me, you are not alone if you are concerned about the filth on paid TV. We have an opportunity to strike a blow against the purveyors of smut by demanding cable choice. But we must act forcefully, and in great numbers, to make our views known now. The Federal Communications Commission has the authority to implement cable choice and the time is ripe to push for it. The FCC has recently become more family-friendly under the new chairman, Kevin Martin, who is very sensitive to issues affecting the family. Chairman Martin has publicly challenged cable and satellite companies to become more family-friendly. We are today beginning a campaign to urge the FCC to implement cable choice. You can help by doing two things:

click here https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL05F05&f=AL05F05&t=e&track=0  to send a message to the FCC asking for cable choice (I've prepared a short note for you to send); then, forward this message to friends and family so that we can end the forced subsidization of anti-family programming on cable and satellite TV.

Your ISP As Net watchdog - All online Activities To Be Recorded? (Prophecy Watch)

The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities. 
Data retention rules could permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity months after Internet providers ordinarily would have deleted the logs--that is, if logs were ever kept in the first place. No U.S. law currently mandates that such logs be kept. 
In theory, at least, data retention could permit successful criminal and terrorism prosecutions that otherwise would have failed because of insufficient evidence. But privacy worries and questions about the practicality of assembling massive databases of customer behavior have caused a similar proposal to stall in Europe and could engender stiff opposition domestically.

Evangelism Is Under Attack In Australia  (Prophecy Watch)
Evangelical Christianity is under attack in Victoria, Australia. It started with two pastors going to court for saying things against Muslims. Now, a prison inmate, who practices witchcraft, has brought a lawsuit against the Salvation Army for their Alpha course that helps inmates understand the Gospel, but also speaks against witchcraft.
The suit was made possible under Victoria's 2001 Racial and Religious intolerance Act, which outlaws religious vilification.
Salt Shakers Executive Officer Peter Stokes says, "The Alpha people, also the Salvation Army have lodged what they call a strike out motion, claiming his case is irrelevant and should be struck out."
Robin Fletcher, who is a convicted sex offender, wants the Bible-based Alpha course removed from the prison because it condemns witchcraft. 
This comes after two pastors were convicted of vilifying Islam, but they're still waiting their punishment, which was expected weeks ago. 
Stokes says, "In many ways Christians allowed the water to run under the bridge of apathy. We've not taken notice of what's been going on around us. The Christians have just sort of hibernated in their churches and not understood what's going on in the community."
Many Christians thought the legislation was more of a human rights law and ignored it. Stokes says, "We said right at the beginning, this would affect evangelism. And, low and behold, praise God this case was brought which clearly affects evangelism. And, I think it's God's message to the church."

Stokes believes this could be a turning point for seeing this law overturned, but, "I can't ask people to pray that the case be dismissed because in fact I think there's a lot more waking up to be done.

And, for this case to go on at least a little while longer will show people that Christianity is under threat."

Democrats express concerns "about permitting federally funded programs to proselytize."
Congress is considering a bill that would make President Bush's faith-based office and initiative a permanent White House fixture.
Proponents argue it's a success worth continuing, but critics question whether it makes the wall between church and state too low.
A subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee met June 21 to discuss a bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., to codify the initiative Bush established when he issued an executive order during his first term.
"The Tools for Community Initiatives Act" (H.R. 1054) would make permanent the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 10 federal agencies that Bush created to pursue equal treatment of faith-based groups.
The offices were created to promote government partnerships with faith-based and community organizations in providing publicly funded social services. Bush argued faith-based groups had been discriminated against by federal grant programs.
Green praised the efforts of faith-based and community-oriented groups in combating problems such as substance abuse, homelessness and youth violence.
"This initiative is about serving people in the most effective way," Green said, noting that the groups are "reaching out not to further their ideology, but to help their neighbor."
Some panelists at the hearing acknowledged that religious organizations can have a positive role in meeting American's social needs. However, questions remain about defining the government's role in funding faith-based organizations.
There is a "right way and a wrong way for the government to partner with religious organizations," said Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va., adding that he is concerned, among other things, about permitting federally funded programs to proselytize.

NOTTINGHAM, England, June 23, 2005 The global Anglican Communion’s Consultative Council maintained their expulsion of clergy members of the Canadian Anglican and US Episcopal churches over disagreement with their respective positions on homosexual "marriage" and clergy.

A motion prohibiting the Canadian Anglican Church and Episcopal Church of USA (ECUSA) from participating in two key committees, the Standing Committee and Anglican Finance Committee, passed by a narrow margin (30-28, with 4 abstentions) Wednesday in Nottingham. This motion upholds and strengthens the suspension of the Canadian and US Churches from Communion activities as decided in February, until the next Lambeth Conference in 2008.

Should we sound the alarm for a worldwide epidemic that might not occur? There is no choice with the avian flu emerging from Asia. Last week's disclosure that an Indonesian man tested positive for the bird flu that has already killed more than 50 people in Southeast Asia was just the latest chilling news about the disease. Should it develop certain genetic changes, international health experts warn, bird flu could spark a global pandemic, infecting as much of a quarter of the world's population and killing as many as 180 million to 360 million people - at least seven times the number of AIDS deaths, all within a matter of weeks.
This is utterly different from ordinary flu, which kills between 1 million and 2 million people worldwide in a typical year. In the worst previous catastrophic pandemic, in 1918, more than 20 million died from the Spanish Flu. That's more than the number of people who died from the Black Death in the Middle Ages, and more people killed in 24 weeks than AIDS killed in 24 years. 
There are three elements to a pandemic. First, a virus emerges from the pool of animal life that has never infected human beings, meaning no person has antibodies to fight it. Second, the virus has to make us seriously ill. Third, the virus must be capable of moving swiftly from human to human through coughing, sneezing or just a handshake. 
For avian flu, the first two elements are already with us. Well over half the people who have contracted it have died. The question now is whether the virus will meet the third condition: mutating so that it can spread rapidly from human to human. 
The new flu has already moved from chickens to other birds and on to pigs. The latter often serve as a vessel for mixing human and animal viruses because the receptors on the respiratory cells of pigs are similar to those of humans. This illustrates the dangers we face, because this mixture of bird flu and human flu, in an animal or a person, could cause the viruses to exchange genetic materials and create an entirely new viral strain capable of sustaining efficient human-to-human transmission. That would be the tipping point to a pandemic. 
Nobody knows just how close we might be to such a crisis, but experts are alarmed because we are singularly ill-prepared. Worldwide, we currently produce only about 300 million doses of flu vaccine a year to serve more than 6 billion people. A pandemic that began in Asia could race around the globe in days or weeks, given the number of airliners crisscrossing the oceans from Tokyo, Vietnam and Indonesia to New York, Los Angeles and London.
A pandemic could well bring global, national and regional economies to an abrupt halt in a world that relies on the speed and distribution of so many products. It could also lead many countries to impose useless but highly destructive quarantines that would disrupt trade, travel and production - something that has never happened with AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis. At home, many venues of human contact - schools, movie theaters, transportation hubs and businesses - would have to be shuttered. Imagine the chaos. These killer viruses simply can't be isolated in any part of the world. If avian flu were allowed to develop into a pandemic, it would be a direct threat to our health, security and prosperity.
The word influenza derives from the Latin influentia, reflecting the belief at the time that epidemics were due to the influence of the stars. Today, we have moved far beyond that fantasy, but even so, the world is clearly not ready for an avian-flu pandemic. With the scientific consensus already shifting from if to when the next global outbreak takes place

The Republican effort to deal with what conservatives call a left-wing bias in the nation's public television and radio stations went a significant step further with the selection of Patricia de Stacy Harrison, a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee who has no prior broadcast experience, to assume the top job at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The selection by the CPB's eight-member board of directors came less than a week after a group of Democratic lawmakers urged Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson to drop Harrison's name from the running, referring to her as a "partisan activist." Tomlinson had publicly favored Harrison for the job.

Harrison has served as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs since 2001. She has filled a variety of roles at the State Department under the current President Bush, just as she did under Bush's father.

Harrison has praised the work of the State Department's Office of Broadcasting Services, which in 2002 began producing feature reports, some coordinated with the White House that promoted the administration's agenda in Afghanistan and Iraq and were distributed free to domestic and international TV stations.

The decision overturned a ban on the event by the city's council, which had said the event would be "provocative" and set off unrest.

The judge ordered Jerusalem's mayor to personally pay 30,000 shekels ($6,600) to the city's gay and lesbian centre. He said this would cover the group's legal costs and underwrite the event.

In addition, Judge Mussia Arad ordered the council to pay and additional 30,000 shekels to the group, and to line the parade route with banners representing the group in advance of the event, as the city customarily does for other parades and cultural events.

In her ruling, the Jerusalem district court judge said the city did not have the right to prohibit the parade, arguing that the mayor could not act with prejudice against a group of people because he disagreed with their views.

The event has been held for the last three years and previously passed off peacefully, albeit under heavy security.

Three months ago, Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders held a news conference calling for gay festivals in Jerusalem to be banned.

They said a gay parade through the city could spark violence. One Muslim cleric suggested gay events in Jerusalem would attract divine wrath similar to that which destroyed the biblical city of Sodom.

Several weeks ago, Jerusalem's gay and lesbian centre - Jerusalem Open House - postponed an international gay event, Jerusalem WorldPride 2005, that had been scheduled for August and would have coincided with Israel's planned Gaza pullout.

Unrest 'Could Double' Oil Price ( U K News Telegraph-27/06/2005)

A warning of a possible near doubling in the cost of oil was issued last week as UK prices rose to more than £4 a gallon and the AA Motoring Trust said the price of diesel was approaching £5 a gallon. Further rises were expected next week, it said. The price of crude oil could soon reach $100 a barrel, compared with the present historic high of $60, if there was further supply disruption in Russia or a political upset in Saudi Arabia, a leading German institute said.

The IFW World Economics Institute in Kiel said that any number of "unwelcome developments" could provoke a crisis. Given that the industry was already producing at full capacity to meet soaring demand in China and India, there was almost no margin to absorb a sudden supply shock.

The institute cited the risk of unrest spilling over from Iraq into Saudi Arabia and urged governments to lower car use, improve public transport and develop other forms of energy.

Adding to fears, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's new hard-ine leader, called for a crackdown on foreign oil firms.

The concerns of a long-term supply shortage were echoed by the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London, which questioned whether Opec could raise production much even if it wanted.

"There is no credible supply-side solution to the problem," the group's latest report said. "Prices will start to ease only when global oil demand growth stalls."

Senate Approves Gas Price Gouging Amendment (CNSNews.com June 23, 2005)
The Senate Thursday approved an amendment to an energy bill that would include the requirement that the Federal Trade Commission look into allegations of gas price gouging.
The amendment, sponsored by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), has received unanimous support.
"At the same time that rising gas prices are causing Michigan families to think about curtailing their summer vacations, oil conglomerates are announcing all-time record profits," Stabenow said in arguing for her amendment. She noted that prices this week at one Michigan gas station climbed from $2.10 to $2.35 per gallon within two hours.
"A majority of Americans believe these skyrocketing gas prices are not fair, and I am pleased that my Senate colleagues have agreed with me that the FTC needs to investigate these price hikes," said Stabenow.