Young people from a group called "Bound For Life" have stood vigil in front of the Supreme Court building, crying out to God to bring righteous judges to sit on the nation's highest court. The word LIFE, taped over their mouths, symbolizes the silent cries of the unborn Americans.

Jesse Engle is with Bound For Life. He explained their constant prayer vigil, "Although very few of us are even married, we are all doing this for the generation yet unborn, and for our children. I don't want to be silent in this time. And, in 30 years be standing at the place where we are now, and [have to] say, ‘I did nothing.’

Tiffany Edwards, is a 21 year old pro-lifer from Arizona. She said, "I'm here because I know that God is calling all generations, young and old, to come and make their stand and cry out for justice in America and for the end of abortion."

Christian leaders have issued an urgent call to the Church to pray! Pray like never before!

They say what's at stake is nothing less than the future of America. They believe the Presidential elections of 2000 & 2004 will have been in vain, if the wrong people get placed on the Supreme Court.

Lou Engle is the head of ‘The Cause’ and the Justice House of Prayer. He told us, "I believe we're in the most critical moment of prayer maybe in the history of America. What I believe is that the issue of abortion could be ended in these next couple of years! But I believe it’s up to the praying church."

Lou Engle says it's the church's job to keep praying for the courts even if Roberts is confirmed.

And, it’s up to the church to pray that Roberts won’t end up like another Supreme Court Justice appointed by a Republican President, Justice Anthony Kennedy.

He recently told CBN he believes that what happens with the Supreme Court is even more crucial for America's future than the last two presidential elections.

Apart from the fact that these judges are in for life, I think even more because this is the group of people, I believe, have brought more evil into this nation than any other group. Not intentionally, of course, but, because of their decisions. They’ve had the power to Legislate God out of the life of America.

I believe they are the gate we have to close to get this turned around. If we can do this, we can see a dramatic turnaround in this nation to celebrating life, protecting life, bringing God back into the nation. I just believe this is the key. I’ve felt that for years. The key to turning America is the courts.

I had the great privilege to stand beside men and women who have devoted their lives to the fight for family, faith and freedom. From the pulpit of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, our Justice Sunday II broadcast on judicial activism was transmitted live to every state in the union and was available to an estimated 79 million homes. Interest was intense from the media, including a number of the nation's most active bloggers, who, as always, gave instant and unvarnished views of the event.

To order your free "Save the Court" kit, visit the Justice Sunday II website (www.JusticeSunday.com)

Free Market Foundation's legal division, Liberty Legal Institute, represented the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools (NCBCPS) as they responded to Texas Freedom Network's (TFN) attack on an elective Bible course offered in public high schools across the state.

"It is ironic that a group which claims to be against censorship is now attempting to become the biggest censor in the state of Texas," said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for Liberty Legal Institute. The recent report, The Bible and Public Schools, published by TFN and authored by Dr. Mark Chancey has sparked a national debate on the use of the Bible for academic study. "NCBCPS course material is designed to utilize the vast historical and cultural insight found in the Bible," Sasser said. "Depriving students of such important study is totally ridiculous and contrary to the U.S. Supreme Court statement."

School is just around corner. Awaiting anxious students are new schedules, new teachers, new challenges and in some school districts, old controversies about what books should be read in school.

School districts have been facing challenges over what should be in the library as long as there have been libraries, but recent changes in the world of children's literature and our society have focused the debates on matters of teen sexuality. A recent MSNBC story regarding adolescent reading material describes growing parental concern over the explicit nature of books aimed at young teens. Correspondent Janet Shamlian reports on some recent hot-selling teen titles,----- "which are too explicit to be printed in the Watchman Report, if you want to review this shocking article you can click on the hyperlink below." (Howard Wilson)

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that the recitation of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance by Virginia schoolchildren is constitutional.

"The Pledge, which is not a religious exercise, does not amount to an establishment of religion," wrote Judge Karen J. Williams in the Aug. 10 opinion of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Accordingly, the Recitation Statute, requiring daily, voluntary recitation of the Pledge in the classrooms of Virginia's public schools, is constitutional."

Edward Myers, a Loudoun County, Va., man affiliated with the Anabaptist-Mennonite faith, sued the Loudoun County Public Schools in 2002, claiming that the recitation of the pledge violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. He had two children in the district's schools at the time and said he was concerned that the county was indoctrinating them with a "God and Country' religious worldview."

He appealed when a lower court dismissed the case, saying the law requiring the Pledge recitation did not have a religious purpose.

Williams affirmed the lower court's decision in her ruling, saying the pledge is a patriotic activity rather than a religious one. "Undoubtedly the Pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under God' contain no religious significance," she wrote. "The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the Pledge as a patriotic activity."

Myers' lawyer, David Remes, said Wednesday that he and his client had not yet decided whether to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Associated Press reported.

(Agape Press) The vice president and psychologist in residence of Focus on the Family says the new study that finds many teens get alcohol from their parents is an indication of an even bigger problem.

The study found that 24 percent of teens say their parents have given them alcohol, and 21 percent have been to a party where alcohol was supplied by the parents.

Focus on the Family's Dr. Bill Maier says the results of the study are disturbing but perhaps to be expected in light of another problem of increasing prevalence -- the problem of what he calls pushover parents. "Unfortunately, there are a significant number of parents in this country who are unable or unwilling to provide their children with the moral guidance they so desperately need," he says.

"These parents are so concerned about being liked by their kids that they fail to place any limits on their children's behavior -- even behavior that is dangerous or destructive," Maier continues. He points to recent examples: a single mom in Florida, who stands accused of having sex with her son's 15-year-old friend while he was spending the night at their house; and a Colorado case in which a woman allegedly threw parties for her teenage son and his friends, giving them alcohol and sexual favors.

Similar cases have occurred nationwide, and the Focus on the Family vice president sees it as a sign of a crisis in parenting. He notes, "When asked why they did that, a couple of these moms said something to the effect of 'I wanted to be cool; I wanted the kids to like me. I wanted them to think I was a cool mom.' So it's shocking; but again, I'm not really surprised, given this phenomenon in our culture."

The implications of pushover parenting are far-reaching, Maier asserts, with the children of such parents often exhibiting immaturity, a sense of entitlement, irresponsibility, and poor relationship skills. The pro-family psychologist says these parents want too much to befriend their kids instead of nurturing them by setting limits and providing the discipline their children really need.

Quoteworthy: The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. --------- Abraham Lincoln

The education of youth should be watched with the most scrupulous attention. . . . [It] lays the foundations on which both law and gospel rest for success. ----------- Noah Webster

U.N. Enshrines Abortion Rights Into International Law (Religion Journal)

The leader of a Catholic activist group says some "dangerous language" is being introduced into a United Nations' document on disabilities.

That language, says Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, could potentially be used to enshrine abortion rights into international law.

The U.N. is currently drafting a document to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities. One of the articles of the draft would require nations to provide "persons with disabilities with the same range and standard of health and rehabilitation services as provided other citizens, including sexual and reproductive health services."

Says Ruse: "In U.N. parlance, 'sexual and reproductive health services' means abortion." He adds that this development is a "serious problem" because the document would be a binding legal treaty on nations that agree -- and he fears that pro-abortion activists in signatory countries that restrict abortion may challenge those laws by citing the U.N. article.

According to Ruse, the language being proposed has the primary support of the European Union, which includes several members -- notably Ireland, Poland, Malta, and Portugal -- where abortion is currently against the law or significantly restricted.

The eminent domain bill, S.B. 7, passed the Texas Senate Wednesday in a 17-6 vote despite the earlier filibuster attempts by Senator Mario Gallego (D- District 6). S.B. 7 can finally go to Governor Perry for his signature.

S.B. 7 protects Texans by preventing local government from allowing private industries to seize their homes for economic development. This bill is a safeguard against the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which changed the law to give private industries eminent domain rights, where before it was limited only to public entities.

Court Decision Worries Churches That Kelo Puts Religious Property At Risk
(Christianity Today, September 2005 Mark Stricherz posted 08/16/2005)

While many legal analysts say that a Supreme Court ruling broadening the definition of eminent domain will primarily hurt the poor. Christian churches may face an increased risk of having their property seized by local government.

Lawyers for religious organizations sharply criticized the high court's June 23 decision in Kelo v. New London. The Court ruled that a Connecticut town could condemn private homes to promote primarily commercial interests, not for what has traditionally been known as public use, such as the construction of a freeway.

"City governments will be emboldened to some extent by the Court's decision, and may begin to target church properties," Richard Hammar, editor of Church Law and Tax Report, told CT.

Derek Gaubatz, director of litigation for the Becket Fund, concurred. "It is not an idle concern," Gaubatz said. Because of their tax-exempt status, churches "will be in the crosshairs" of local governments seeking more tax revenue, he said.

Some lawyers, however, cautioned that churches retain advantages that businesses and individuals do not. Among those advantages are the First Amendment's guarantee of religious liberty and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The 2000 law bars governments from restricting houses of worship without a compelling interest.

Even so, the high court's controversial Kelo decision has sparked something of a backlash around the country. Legislators in 26 states responded by writing legislation or announcing plans to do so, according to the Institute for Justice, a Washington-based property-rights group. In addition, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas sponsored a bill that already has 26 Senate cosponsors. The bill, S. 1313, would prohibit such transfers of private property, without the owner's consent, if federal funds were used, and if the transfer was for purposes of economic development rather than traditional notions of public use.

The study shows that nearly half of physician-assisted death requests were carried out, but it also found that nearly one in eight patients decided not to go through with the suicide. And although the study concluded that Dutch physicians report they are complying with the official requirements for euthanasia in the Netherlands, Dr. David Stevens, M.D., executive director of the CMDA, contends there is currently no real way to monitor the doctors' compliance.

A Dutch law that took effect in 2002 restricts doctors from euthanizing patients unless they are terminal, suffering unbearable pain, without hope of improvement, and making a sustained request for death while of sound mind. Each case is reviewed by a panel of medical experts. But Dr. Stevens says euthanasia in the Netherlands has become so commonplace that it is no longer about stopping a patient's suffering. Increasingly, he says, it is about getting people who are no longer considered "useful" out of the way.

Over the last year the National Education Association's Republican Educators Caucus has been taken over by union members seeking to "infiltrate the Republican Party" with an NEA agenda. The strategy has been abetted by NEA top leadership, who are almost certainly not Republican.

With the assistance of NEA lobbyist Randall Moody, Shawna Adam helped organize a coup to oust the previous chairwoman of the caucus at the July 2004 NEA convention. Moody coordinates the union's political activities, which overwhelmingly support Democrats.

Following a dinner meeting with NEA president Reg Weaver, Adam was elected as the new chairwoman at the July 2005 Republican Caucus meeting prompting four of the six officers and more than three-quarters of the caucus members - 132 of 167 - to quit. The 35 who remained were joined by 35 new members.

Adam promptly led a union march against California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's fiscal and school reform efforts and persuaded the convention delegates to commit $171,125 for a campaign against education policies of the Bush administration, Republican governors and state legislatures with whom the NEA disagrees. Her resolution, which was adopted by the NEA convention, was reportedly written by an NEA staff officer. "NEA Republicans [should] take on the GOP agenda to change the anti-public education to pro-public education. NEA Republicans are the obvious choice to change their party from within, help infiltrate the Republican Party with an anti-voucher agenda," Adam told delegates.

GAZA — The Gaza Strip is one of the poorest, most overpopulated areas in the world with 1.4 million Palestinians crammed into a 100-square-mile area. With 50 percent unemployment, the vast majority of Gazans live below a poverty line of $2 a day.

It's exactly the kind of situation that the United Nations Development Program was set up to deal with, and the U.N. is spending millions of dollars there every year.

But FOX News has discovered that not all that cash is going to alleviate poverty. Instead, some of it is funding a Palestinian political campaign under the slogan, "Today Gaza, tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem."

Both the West Bank and Jerusalem are disputed areas, yet it is U.N. money that is paying for posters, t-shirts, even bumper stickers bearing that slogan. This week as Israeli security forces clashed with angry Jewish settlers protesting their eviction from the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia wore a T-shirt saying, "Today Gaza Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem."

"This is simply outrageous," said Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. "The West Bank is disputed territory under the U.N. Security Council Resolution 242. The United Nations has no business getting involved in sloganeering to call the Palestinians to also take tomorrow the West Bank and East Jerusalem." Gold claims the UNDP has also been giving money to organizations tied to Hamas. One UNDP bank transfer request, obtained by FOX News, shows the organization giving thousands of dollars to a Jenin-based organization with links to the militant group.

When the evidence obtained by FOX News was shown to UNDP headquarters in New York, officials said the funding was given "without their knowledge" and they said they were "surprised," but there has been no word if the funding will stop or if disciplinary action will be taken.

The ISM-London Bombing Connection (Lee Kaplan FrontPageMagazine.com Aug.16, 2005)

Consider the available information: Khan is suspected of delivering the explosives that were used to carry out the London attacks. Recent evidence shows that the explosives used in the London subway attacks were found by British and Israeli intelligence officials to be remarkably similar to those used in a 2003 bombing of the "Mike’s Place" pizzeria in Israel. Related to this, Israel National News recently reported that British and Israeli intelligence reports show that Khan, who had a British passport, arrived in Israel on February 19, 2003, and stayed for only one day. During his stay, he may have met with Asif Hanif and Omar Sharif. Both of the men, with the assistance of Hamas, would later become suicide bombers. Hanif and Sharif traveled from Britain to Israel under the auspices of the ISM’s Alternative Tourism Program. One of their final acts, just prior to departing on their murderous mission, was to meet with ISM activists in Gaza. This connection is only one measure of the unheralded threat posed by the self-proclaimed "peace" group, ISM. At present, Israel is the only nation to have recognized the danger the ISM presents to Western democracies.

About 2.5 million people are at risk of starvation in Niger. The need is especially urgent for some 800,000 children who are already severely malnourished. A desperate woman had been feeding her family dried up leaves to sustain them. International aid is starting to arrive. But, now it’s questionable whether that aid will get to rural areas in time to save lives.

The Christian Ministry Operation Blessing is delivering food and health care to some of the most remote areas of Niger, places that larger humanitarian agencies have yet to reach. Working with the World Food Program and a German relief organization, OB is shipping 1100 tons of food to rural villages. The group has already contributed food, some 40 tons of it, in the border towns of Bani-Bangou and Bankilare.

O.B.’s David Darg, in Niger, tells about those efforts. Darg said, "Operation Blessing is the first organization on the ground here, in the village of Bankilare, 200 miles north of the capital city. People have walked as much as 20 km from the surrounding area, just to get to this food aid we’ve brought with us. The situation is desperate and there’s simply not enough food to go around."

House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) suggested holding off on another special session until the Texas Supreme Court reviews and determines the constitutionality of the current Texas public education system. At that point, Gov. Rick Perry may call a third special session to continue work on education reform. Although legislators are being criticized by the media for not passing a bill during the second special session, they should be praised for their determination not to compromise and allow dangerous new taxes or problematic technology textbooks.

BOSTON, Mass, August 17, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Harvard has announced that it will spend $1 million annually towards research intended to delve into some of the most fundamental questions about the origins of the universe. Some Harvard representatives insist, however, that the study has nothing to do with the recent controversy surrounding the tension between traditional Darwinian evolution and the God-based Intelligent Design Theory.

Last month President Bush created a flurry of controversy when he promoted the inclusion of Intelligent Design into school curricula to counter-balance the oftentimes dogmatic teaching of Darwinian evolution theory.

David Barton Releases Extensive Report on Judge John Roberts (FMF)

The Wallbuilders Founder and President David Barton released research on Judge John G. Roberts. This report analyzes his personal background, professional experience, philosophical views, potential impact and prospects for confirmation. CLICK HERE to download the report.

Pro-family leaders call for action to scrap the idea.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) agreed to delay the creation of a dot-xxx top level domain for one month while the proposal for the virtual red-light district is reviewed.

The action followed the Bush administration announcing its opposition to the idea.

Pat Trueman, senior legal council with Family Research Council, said the administration stepped in because of public pressure -- including a deluge of e-mails from CitizenLink readers.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America refused a proposal to give homosexuals the ability to serve as clergy in the church. Although the current church doctrine prevents homosexuals from being ordained, a special task force proposed an exemption for those who were in a long-term relationship. This "compromise" was defeated, 503-490.

Controversy Surrounds Texas Governor's Race in 2006 Primary Election (FMF)

A controversy has erupted over Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's campaign tactics for the Republican gubernatorial primary election. Strayhorn's son and Campaign Manager Brad McClellan sent a letter last week to a State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) Member, asking for a formal apology for comments suggesting that Strayhorn is soliciting votes from democrats in the state. In a reply, members of the SREC held to their opinion that Strayhorn intends to encourage democrats to vote in the republican primary in order to skew the results. Many Texans do not realize that either party can actually vote in the other party's primary and thus possibly change the election results.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, August 17, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An American Civil Liberties Union director equated school board members who pray before their meetings with 9/11 al-Qaida terrorists.

In comments made on camera to local WAFB-TV, Joe Cook of the ACLU of Louisiana said, "They believe that they answer to a higher power, in my opinion," referring to school board members who want to maintain the right to begin school board meetings with prayer. Answering to a "higher power" "is the kind of thinking that you had with the people who flew the airplanes into the buildings in this country, and the people who did the kind of things in London," he maintained.

Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Mike Johnson welcomed Cook’s comments as evidence of how extreme the ACLU really is. "It shows the ACLU has become more and more extreme and marginalized," he said, as reported by WorldNetDaily.com. "So, to that extent, I like it when he talks, because he simply reveals who they are."

Johnson explained that the ACLU comes "across as champions of liberty, but the truth of the matter is they are extremists. It's clear in a number of recent cases that the ACLU of Louisiana wants to impose a radical form of secularism that the Constitution doesn't require, and frankly, that people of this state are not willing to accept."

Free Market Foundation's legal division, Liberty Legal Institute (LLI), filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a Texas father and his mentally challenged daughter in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al. The case will be heard before the U.S. Suprme Court on Nov. 30. The father petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the lower court ruling, which struck down the parental notification law. His mentally challenged daughter was the victim of repeated sexual abuse and coerced abortions. Since a parental notification law was not in place at the time of the incident, neither of the young girl's parents were informed of the coerced abortions. Therefore, they were unaware of the abuse and unable to protect their daughter. "Parental notification protects young girls from child sex predators, who conceal their heinous crimes by forcing girls to have an abortion," said Kelly Shackelford, Free Market Foundation president. "These attempts to thwart that protection are disgraceful."

Quoteworthy: -----------"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government." –Thomas Jefferson

Our review of 136 MTV shows, representing more than 70 hours of original programming, revealed expletive-laden programming--both partially-bleeped and non-bleeped profanity--that occurred approximately once every three minutes with no language warnings to parents.

If parents wanted to supervise, they would not be helped by the V-chip because the MTV programming monitored in the study did not contain the content indicator for L - language. The V-chip is completely dependent upon the ratings system's content descriptors to work accurately.

The "Land for Peace" equation, by its very definition, legitimized terrorism as a form of political persuasion. Over the last dozen years, Israel has in effect given up almost all of its hard-won 1967 land in exchange for nothing that even resembles an illusion of peace.

Here are some of the stark facts:

This has been rewarded by the Bush administration embracing them as worthy peace partners. The Palestinians aren’t expecting that they will ever destroy Israel. They are using terror to force the world to do it for them.

The Quartet (See Note) led by the French, forced Sharon to ‘coordinate’ with Abbas in order to ensure a ‘smooth transition’ of power, turning what had been a tactical offensive move into a humiliating military defeat. Sharon was committed to the withdrawal, but the Quartet handed all the best bargaining cards to Abbas.

Not only did the French ‘initiative’ on behalf of the Quartet stick a bayonet into Sharon’s back, it handed global terrorism a resounding victory.

Al-Jazeera made the Islamic world’s perception clear, "However, some analysts believe that, whether Israel likes it or not, the atmosphere that will prevail during the evacuation process will certainly show Israel as a defeated state, while the Palestinians celebrate and reap the fruits of their armed conflict."

The prophet Ezekiel predicts a period of time just before he Messiah comes when Israel would be "a land of unwalled villages at rest, dwelling safely without walls, having neither bars nor gates." (Ezekiel 38:1-11)

In this same context, he prophesied that an army from Israel’s extreme north would lead a ‘confederacy of nations’ to invade. All of the nations in this confederacy are Muslim today. The Muslim leader is foreseen as Persia or modern Iran.

The ‘Gaza First’ plan as originally conceived, envisioned walling out the terrorists in Gaza, and then completing the terror wall around Israel.

Think of it for a moment. This is the 21st century. While it may have made sense in Ezekiel’s day to build walls for protection, it doesn’t make sense in today’s world to erect such easily breached defenses. It makes no sense in an era of smart bombs and aircraft. Yet in this unique era of terrorists, it makes perfect sense.

So this is precisely what Israel is being forced to do. In the process, it is setting the stage for the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy.

All of this is setting up another very important prophecy. The prophet Daniel foresaw a false peace treaty being negotiated with the Antichrist during this same time frame. You can bet the farm that one of the terms for peace will be the dismantling of Israel’s anti-terrorist wall.

Daniel predicted that one of the facets of the peace formula would be based on ‘dividing the land for gain’ (Daniel 11:39). He also predicted that it would be the confirmation of a covenant that guaranteed Israel’s security.

The NIV version of Daniel 9:27 says, "He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven" – meaning a sabbatical year of seven years. The word ‘confirm’ comes from the Hebrew word gabar, meaning 'to strengthen' or to 'confirm'. In this context it is used in the sense of "making an existing covenant work because of the power of the one making it."

The word covenant here is used in the sense of a solemn guarantee of security.

The failed Oslo Agreement signed in 1993 (that spawned what Israel calls the ‘Oslo War’) was due to have reached its goal by September, 2000 and was based on the formula of ‘land for peace’.

Every subsequent peace effort has been based on the Oslo formula. The Oslo formula is on its face surrender to terror, since at its heart it is an exchange of land in return for a cessation of terror.

And it is, to this point, unconfirmed in the sense that it has not borne fruit. No one has the power to make it work. Israel remains the target of terrorism, despite its concessions. Daniel predicts that the Antichrist will have this power.

The EU has offered many times in the past to guarantee Israel’s security in exchange for a lasting peace agreement. But the only thing missing is someone of sufficient stature to convince Israel to trust its security to him. "thus the Antichrist Cometh."

The ‘Quartet’s’ effort to bring peace will fail. So will the Gaza disengagement plan, since ‘the Quartet’ has dealt all the best cards to the Palestinian’s side; But soon, a leader of the revived Roman Empire of Europe will arise and come up with a deal that both sides will accept. Such a deal could be introduced at almost any time.

But the Bible predicts that at some point before that deal is inked, the Lord Himself must descend from heaven and snatch all believers up to meet Him in the air. He will instantly change us from mortal to immortal.

Paul tells us to comfort one another with these words. The Lord IS coming! And, according to the signs of the times, He is coming soon!

Quoteworthy: --------- If we ally ourselves with the enemies of Israel, we will be standing against God Almighty. And that's a place I don't want us to be. ---------- Pat Robertson

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