WORTH RECALLING: “The belief in a God All Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities impressed with it.” James Madison, author of the First Amendment and fourth President of the United States.

ATHEIST’S LATEST TARGET – “CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS ACTS” AT PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

As you may recall, Michael Newdow, the atheist father in California, led the legal assault on God in The Pledge of Allegiance. Besides renewing that battle, Newdow now has petitioned a federal court to prevent the president from “engaging in Christian religious acts” (i.e., prayers and other forms of worship) at the January 20th. inauguration.

In 2002, the 9th. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Newdow’s favor – holding that the words “in God we trust” in the Pledge somehow constituted an establishment of religion under the First Amendment, and thus the Pledge could not be said in public schools (which the federal courts have turned into religion-free zones).

The Supreme Court reversed on the grounds that Newdow (who did not have custody of his daughter) lacked standing. The Court did not rule on the merits of the case.

This encouraged Newdow to renew his unholy crusade, with eight other atheist parents joining him as plaintiffs.

Newdow has become the Energizer Bunny of secular fundamentalism. Now he’s asking a federal court to block prayers at the inaugural. Would he also like to end the practice of the president taking his oath of office on the Bible? You bet he would…. And he and his ilk will succeed in removing the Bible from all of our public ceremonies, if Christians continue to peacefully slumber through the Culture Wars.

Since 1789, every presidential inauguration has included supplications to the Almighty. But tradition means nothing to the anti-faith jihadists. They are absolutely determined to expunge all manifestations of faith from our public life. Our 40th. president, Ronald Reagan, put it well when he remarked that America will be “One nation under God, or a nation gone under.”

DEGENERACY AT THE INAUGURATION?

One of the official inaugural events may include a most unwholesome element. According to The New York Times, the rapper Kid Rock has been invited to “perform” at an inaugural youth concert hosted by the president’s daughters.

Family advocates are up in arms, and rightly so.

This exhibitionist sings songs peppered with obscenities. In 1999, he was voted the “Sluttiest Male Celebrity” at MTV’s Video Music Awards. Being voted the “sluttiest” by MTV is like being voted most liberal by Ted Kennedy.

When the Kid performed during last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, his antics were so disgusting that he and Janet Jackson generated over half a million complaints to the FCC between them.

If this besotted exhibitionist, whose favorite word begins with the letter F, is allowed on the stage at the youth concert, it will be a national embarrassment and send an abominable message to America’s youth.

WorldNet Daily reports that the White House is saying Kid Rock hasn’t confirmed. Why he was ever invited in the first place is a mystery.

I am saddened by the lack of sensitivity to Judeo-Christian values on the part of whichever presidential aide dreamed up this travesty. To add your voice to the growing volume of complaints, you can call the White House comment line at (202) 465-1111.

HOPEFUL SIGN FROM THE SUPREME COURT?

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a case challenging the constitutionality of a Florida ban on homosexual adoptions. Does this mean the Court will uphold the sanctity of marriage? While a hopeful sign, it’s still anyone’s guess what the Court will do with marriage.

The Florida Legislature determined (wisely, I believe) that children should be placed with married couples -- men and women, mothers and fathers. Naturally, gay activists and their civil libertarian allies challenged the sensible enactment.

On January 28, 2004, The 11th Circuit Appeals Court in Atlanta held that the ban was a reasonable exercise of legislative power.

In its opinion, the Court explained: “We have found nothing in the Constitution that forbids this policy judgment. Thus, any argument that the Florida legislature was misguided in its decision is one of legislative policy, not constitutional law. The legislature is the proper forum for this debate, and we do not sit as a super-legislature to award by judicial decree what was not achievable by political consensus."

The author of that opinion should be the president’s first Supreme Court nominee. The rationale for the 11th Circuit’s decision is that sensible.

When the Supreme Court refuses to hear an appeal of a lower court decision it could be because it agrees with the ruling. Or it might just be that the justices are so deeply divided on the issue that they can’t even agree on whether the court should take up the case.

And so, while the court’s action is to be applauded, it says nothing about what it might do with a challenge to state bans on gay marriage or the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Moreover, this ruling applies only to states in the 11th. Circuit. Another Circuit could reach an entirely different decision. Homosexual rights advocates are using children as pawns. This makes the battle over marriage all the more crucial. If homosexual marriage is ever established nationally, all state bans on gay adoption would fall.


ACTION TODAY

TAKE ACTION ON KID ROCK

As noted above, we need to flood the White House public-comment line -- (202) 465-1111 -- with calls of protest. For Christians to stand by silently while the inauguration of the man we elected is sullied, would be worse than tragic.

SPONSORS NEEDED FOR MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado is planning to reintroduce the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment, perhaps as early as January 24th. Shannon Royce of the Marriage Protection Project is urging concerned Americans to write to their Senators and ask them to become co-sponsors of what could be the most important legislation of our lifetimes.

For a sample letter – as well as a list of Senators who supported the amendment last year (and those newly elected) -- go to the Marriage Amendment Project’s website – http://www.formarriage.org.