It is appropriate that the Louisiana Legislature passed a resolution urging Congress to enact the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 [https://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:s520is.txt.pdf] at the same time that a national survey was released indicating that Americans view religion as being under attack in America.  According to the poll American Attitudes Toward Religion In the Public Square, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, 64% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that “religion is under attack” in America. Only 32% disagreed with that statement. Among those who consider themselves fundamentalist / evangelical / charismatic Christians, the result rose to 80%.
The unanimous Senate Concurrent Resolution 30 [https://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=327668] by Mike Smith (Democrat, Winnfield), first of its kind in the nation, finds that “… the federal judiciary has overstepped its constitutional boundaries and ruled against the acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, and government by local and state officers and other state institutions, including state schools….”  SCR 30 concludes by urging Congress “to adopt S520 and HR1070, the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 and in doing so protecting the ability of the people of Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in public places, to express their faith in public, to retain God in the Pledge of Allegiance, to retain ‘In God We Trust’ as our national motto, and to use Article III, Section 2.2 of the United States Constitution to except these areas from the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.”
One practical effect of passing the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 would be to remove from the jurisdiction of federal judges such as the one in New Orleans who is a former ACLU State President and recently ruled in favor of the ACLU regarding its challenge to Tangipahoa Parish School Board’s policy of opening their meetings in prayer.  Can you imagine any deliberative body in America more in need of prayer than a public school board?
Some of Louisiana’s congressional delegation (Rodney Alexander, Bobby Jindal, David Vitter) but not all, are co-authors of the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005.  Now would be an exceptionally good time to urge the remainder to stand for traditional values where it will make a difference.  This legislation truly is the ACLU’s worst nightmare.

It is now reported that Louisiana’s rate of syphilis cases ranked No. 1 in the nation last year, while its gonorrhea rate placed second and its Chlamydia rate was third, according to federal figures released on November 8th.  Louisiana’s syphilis rate is 7.4 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 2.7 cases per 100,000 nationally. The state’s gonorrhea rate is 234.4 cases per 100,000, while the national figure is 113.5 per 100,000. The Chlamydia rate is 485.7 per 100,000, compared with 319.6 per 100,000 nationally.
The Louisiana Director of the Office of Public Health claims that “The numbers have been high because we haven’t been able to do the things we need to do to intervene.”  An epidemiologist at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine affirmed that “It’s an economic phenomenon; it’s a sociological phenomenon” that would change once “we start getting people to have protected sex….”
To those with spiritual eyes to see, the problem is not lack of money for testing or condom distribution or training in “protected sex.”  No, the hard but inescapable fact is – to borrow James Carville’s attention-grabbing cliché – “it’s the sin, stupid!”

The most famous psychiatrist of the twentieth century, Dr. Karl Menninger, founder of the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, KS, shocked many with his 1973 book entitled, Whatever Became of Sin?  The cover jacket contains these words: “If as [Menninger] believes, mental health and moral health are identical, the recognition of the reality of sin offers to the suffering, struggling, anxious world a real hope not of belated treatment but of prevention.”

Mark Twain put it a little differently: “You can straighten a worm, but the crook is in him and only waiting.”  America desperately needs to dust off some hard truths:

• “Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.” – Thomas Jefferson
• “Why has government been instituted at all?  Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.”  -Alexander Hamilton (thirty years old!) in Federalist #15
• “[B]ut what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature.  If men were angels, no government would be necessary.  If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”  James Madison- Federalist Papers #51

Speaking of learning from history, Will Durant, writer of perhaps the most comprehensive history of the world, in his wrap-up volume, The Lessons of History, quoted Joseph de Maistre “I do not know what the heart of a rascal may be; I know what is in the heart of an honest man; it is horrible.” (page 51).

We may be reaching the “tipping point” with yesterday’s breathtaking sex-ed decision by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Some have been claiming that it declared parenthood unconstitutional – (https://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200511/CUL20051103b.html).  Regardless of how you characterize the decision, it offers an extraordinarily good reason why the salutary language now found in Louisiana Children’s Code Preamble (Article 101) should be moved into the Louisiana Constitution:

“Art. 101.  Preamble – The people of Louisiana recognize the family as the most fundamental unit of human society; that preserving families is essential to a free society; that the relationship between parent and child is preeminent in establishing and maintaining the well-being of the child; that parents have the responsibility for providing the basic necessities of life as well as love and affection to their children; that parents have the paramount right to raise their children in accordance with their own values and traditions; that parents should make the decisions regarding where and with whom the child shall reside, the educational, moral, ethical, and religious training of the child, the medical, psychiatric, surgical, and preventive health care of the child, and the discipline of the child; that children owe to their parents respect, obedience, and affection; that the role of the state in the family is limited and should only be asserted when there is a serious threat to the family, the parents, or the child; and that extraordinary procedures established by law are meant to be used only when required by necessity and then with due respect for the rights of the parents, the children, and the institution of the family.”  Acts 1991, No. 235, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1992. (emphasis added)  See https://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=72534

It is noteworthy that the Communist Manifesto lists 10 points which Marx considered critical to the success of communism. The last of these is “Public and gratis education of all children.”  We need a history lesson to be reminded that communists are atheists and the goals of the Communist Party are well documented, i.e.,: Continue reading →

Will Rogers opined that “What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.”  I would say that what our country desperately needs at this moment is a clear acknowledgement that our national motto has not degenerated into a national anachronism.  Is it still “In God We Trust” or is that merely past tense – “Trusted” today?

And what shall we say of the future for our children and grandchildren not to mention the future generations of Americans yet unborn?  For starters, how about contacting your congressman and senator and insist that they sign on as co-authors of the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005?  Here is an explanation.

What does the Constitution Restoration Act do?

1. The legislation (S520 (Shelby) and H.R. 1070 (Aderholt) uses the constitutional power of Congress to limit the jurisdiction of federal courts to protect the right of government agencies and officials and the rest of us citizens to acknowledge God.
2. It provides that any judge who allows such a case to be heard in his/her court will have committed a breach of the constitutional standard of “good behavior” and will therefore be subject to impeachment or removal.
3. It also bars judges from relying on foreign legal codes in deciding cases.

Why is the Act so important? Continue reading →

Although some in the media keep talking about the “nuclear option,” there’s really nothing that explosive about the plans of Senate leadership to end the filibusters against President Bush’s judicial nominees.

The Constitution gives the Senate the power to offer “advice and consent” on nominations to the bench — but some senators – including Mary Landrieu – have interpreted that to mean that they have the power to “obstruct and prevent” qualified jurists from serving. The GOP plan would correct that abuse by reaffirming 51 votes as the number needed to confirm a nominee.

This proposal plan involves nothing unethical; after all, there are already at least 26 laws on the books limiting the use of filibusters to block everything from budget resolutions to international trade agreements. And Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, has said — back in 1995 — “The president is entitled to his nominee, if a majority of the Senate consent.”

The bottom line: Restoring Senate tradition to end the minority’s obstructionism must happen sooner rather than later. That’s the message our senators need to hear from us.

What a terrible position to take concerning America’s outstanding black Supreme Court Justice!

CNN.com – Dems’�new Senate leader criticizes Justice Thomas – Dec 5, 2004

LINK

Out of the Courthouse and Into the Public Arena

“Honoring the Truth-Teller”
-by Dr. Roger W. Sapp.

Prior to 1993, I was an active duty Army Chaplain. During that season in my life, I taught leadership skills to officers and non commissioned officers in leadership retreats as a part of my ministry.  I often used management games to teach these leaders about leadership.  In one management game called “Powerplay”, a scenario is created where these leaders were arbitrarily divided into groups by virtue of winning in a trading scenario.  The winning group is then given authority over the other groups. The winning group is given the right to make the rules for future trading and to dictate these rules to the other groups. Without exception, the group that has the authority always begins to make rules to keep its authority and to benefit it as a group in trading.  Given enough time the winning group will begin to clearly abuse the other groups.  This group will justify its behavior on the basis of winning the earlier portion of the game and by virtue of having the authority. Continue reading →

“Sexual Orientation” essentially means “erotic attraction”. The American Psychiatric Association’s current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists over twenty “sexual orientations” besides homosexuality, many of which would shock the sensibilities of most Americans. Pedophilia is one such “sexual orientation.”

Also shocking is the development that the U.S. Senate just passed a “hate crimes” bill recognizing “sexual orientation” as a category deserving of special protection. Supporters of this type of legislation hope to suppress free speech that opposes homosexuality.

The real danger of “hate-crime” laws is that they end up criminalizing thoughts and beliefs, rather than just actions. Homosexual activists would redefine any disagreement with homosexuality as “hate speech.” Laws in Canada and Sweden already state that it is a hate crime to criticize homosexual behavior. For example, a Swedish pastor was recently arrested at his church when he read verses from the Bible that call homosexuality a sin. Continue reading →