Saddam Hussein -- Dec. 30, 2006

By Rick Pearcey

This snapshot is taken from a video image released by Iraqi state-run television Iraqiya.

The image is from moments before the execution of Saddam Hussein Dec. 30, 2006.

Video images released by Biladi TV are here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Iraqi-Americans Cheers Reports of Saddam Execution

By Rick Pearcey

Dearborn, Mich. -- "A crowd of Iraqi-Americans cheered and cried late Friday outside a mosque as some Arab media reported that Saddam Hussein was executed," reports AP.

"The crowd of more than 150 had gathered earlier in anticipation of Saddam's execution, praying for the death of the former Iraqi dictator as people honked car horns, sang and danced in celebration.

"Chants of 'Now there's peace, Saddam is dead' in English and Arabic rang into the night in this Detroit suburb."

The entire report is here.


Related Story:
The Humanity of Hanging Saddam


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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Rick Warren Debate Forum on Fire

By Rick Pearcey

WorldNetDaily has set up a forum to discuss Saddleback's Rick Warren, asking, "What Do You Think of America's Pastor"?

Here's the introduction to the Warren Debate Forum:

"Rick Warren, the best-selling author, pastor of the Saddleback Church, international traveler, has been everywhere lately -- television, magazines, and in the middle of a controversy with WND Editor Joseph Farah over his recent trip to Syria. This forum is the place to debate Warren's actions and Farah's criticisms. What do you think of the man quickly becoming known as 'America's pastor'?"

The earliest forum entry is by "Drummerboy" and dated Dec. 27, 2006, at 10:30 am. There now are 27 pages of postings, with the most recent entry by "Gabriel," dated Dec. 29, 2006, at 1:17 pm.

Total number of posts thus far: 265. Go here to see the debate for yourself.

** Update: The number of posts is now 273 and growing.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

"Christian" TV vs. Christian Thinking

By Rick Pearcey

Steve Turner is a British author and journalist. His book Imagine was published in 2001, and his latest work, The Gospel According to the Beatles, was published in August. The following is from an interview with Infuze magazine.

* Why Worldview? "Christians often develop a Christian view of, say, prayer and scripture but don't think of having a Christian view of the normal stuff of everyday life. If they do not have a Christian worldview, they will inevitably just take the dominant view of the culture they live in. In the West, this tends to be some form of humanistic materialism."

* Beyonce: "If you take an artist like Beyonce, she appears to have a Christian view of Bible reading, church and prayer (from what I've read), and yet her performance, rather than challenging the predominant culture, is a reflection of its current demands."

* Britney Spears: "There was a program about Britney Spears on TV, and writer Chuck Klosterman was saying that when he interviewed her some years ago, he asked her whether she thought her (then) defense of chastity before marriage was at odds with her stage shows and videos where she tended to dress in school girl uniforms and act the temptress. He said that it was one of the strangest moments he'd ever experienced in an interview because she was just dumbfounded. He said it was as if the thought had never occurred to her."

* "Christian" TV: "American 'Christian' TV is a huge enemy of [Christian] worldview thinking, and possibly a huge enemy of Christianity."

* Humans First: "We have to remember that God made us as humans, not Christians. He created the human race and the environment of the world and was pleased with what he had created. He imagined us enjoying our lives in this space He had created."

* Chariots of Fire: "The actor playing the athlete Eric Liddell in the film Chariots of Fire is made to say, 'When I run, I feel God's pleasure.' That is a good doctrine of creation. When we do human things in the world God made for us, God gets pleasure. The need to be Christian entered with the fall. We needed to be redeemed. But, far from wiping out God's orininal intentions, it confirms them. To be Christian is to be on our way to being fully human."

* Evermore Prayer Meetings? "Hank Rookmaaker the Dutch art historian used to say, 'Christ didn't die in order that we could go to more prayer meetings.' People would gasp at this. Then he would add, 'Christ died to make us fully human.'"

* Why Christ Died: "He didn't die to make us religious, but to make us human. In our fallen state, we lack the completeness of our humanity. The monastic tradition makes the mistake of thinking that God is best pleased with us when we cut ourselves off from the world, deny ourselves pleasure, refrain from marriage and devote ourselves totally to religious activities. This almost assumes that God made a mistake in putting us in a world of pleasure, culture, art, nature, work, companionship, etc."

* Love: "Christians have so often 'used' an art form simply to put over a 'message,' but have had no love for the art form. They haven't wanted to leave film or the novel in a better state because they were there. But because these things are good and are pleasing to God, we should make sure that we tend and look after them. The arts help to preserve and invigorate language. They sharpen our vision. They make us notice things. They bring greater understanding between people. We have to respect them."

The entire Steve Turner interview at Infuze magazine can be read here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Breaking News From Iraq -- Top Enemy Adviser Killed, Enemy Gets Mad

By Rick Pearcey

* First, the good news: According to a headline in the Washington Post, "Close Adviser to Sadr Dies in U.S.-Iraqi Raid."

* Now, the bad news: According to the lead paragraph, "A top deputy of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was killed Wednesday during a raid by U.S. and Iraqi troops in the southern holy city of Najaf, sparking protests from Sadr's followers and complicating an already tense relationship with the powerful anti-American leader."

Comment: For the doubters, we now have evidence direct from Iraq -- War is complicated, war is tense. And the enemy doesn't like it when they take casualties.

Bonus Comment: For the believers, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is a fine art. Only top-level journalists need apply.

The rest of the story is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

"Godfather of Soul" James Brown, Dead at 73 -- "From Augusta, GA"

By Rick Pearcey

From AP -- "James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured 'Godfather of Soul,' whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died early Monday, his agent said. He was 73.

"Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said.

"Copsidas said the cause of death was uncertain. 'We really don't know at this point what he died of,' he said.

"Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's 'Fame,' Prince's 'Kiss,' George Clinton's 'Atomic Dog' and Sly and the Family Stone's 'Sing a Simple Song' were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style."

A few James Brown memories:

* Christmas -- During Christmas season, we would sometimes drive by the home of James Brown to see the Christmas decorations. We would always look for the black Santa Claus.

* Toronto -- A man and a woman on a date stop me on a street in Toronto. It's the mid-1980s. The guy is trying to convince the girl to go to a James Brown concert that evening. He asks my opinon. I tell them I'm from Augusta, Ga., as was James Brown, and that whatever else they're thinking about doing, the only real option is to go see James Brown perform.

* Augusta, Ga. -- My dad retired from the Army at Ft. Gordon, near Augusta, Ga. I graduated from Butler High in 1969 and did my undergraduate work at Augusta College (now "State University"). So Augusta is about as close to a "hometown" as this "Army brat" will ever get (born in Aschaffenburg, Germany).

Sometime around 1968-69 on the highway into town, I remember first hearing the refrain on the radio, "I'm black and I'm proud." Musically, I was not impressed. But over time, I came to enjoy not only that song (both the sentiment and the music) but also such James Brown hits as "It Is a Man's World" and "Living in America."

* A Favorite Episode -- My memory tells me that James Brown tried to get out of traffic violations by claiming "diplomatic immunity" because he was the "Ambassador of Soul." Checking the web today indicates it may have been his wife claiming immunity because of the dignitary she was married to. I look forward to an honest, fact-based biography of this man and his times.

If you read the news reports, you'll see that James Brown had a difficult life, a tough upbringing, and he made unfortunate choices as an adult. Today, his friends mourn the passing of a brother, his fans celebrate the gift of his creativity and music.

Today is Christmas. We recall how, in utter contradiction to religio-political authorities then and materialistic authorities now, the true source of human creativity entered the world by choice. A hard world in which to live an unforgettable life. An imperfect world in which to demonstrate the triumph of good over evil, creativity over chaos, redemption over indifference, science over materialism, and the humanity of God over the inhumanity of man.

The rest of the AP story is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

By Rick Pearcey

As no doubt millions of readers have noticed, The Pearcey Report is currently not up and running.

This is because a) The Pearcey Report elves are otherwise occupied this evening, b) the editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report has been naughty, or c) The Pearcey Report has exceeded its bandwidth.

Top Pearcey Report scientists, technicians, elf negotiators, and Condoleeza Rice are working around the clock to restore order. Good cheer, of course, remains.

Meanwhile, have a Merry Christmas!

Cheers to all,

Rick

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Christmas in Brazil

By Rick Pearcey

To our friends in Brazil. You know who you are.

And to all who enjoy the land, the beauty, the samba, the soccer, and the sensitive engagement of people and culture on the basis of truth.

Obrigado!

Merry Christmas!

Rick, Nancy, Michael


Of Interest:
"Easter and Other Four-Letter Words," by Rick Pearcey

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Zawahiri Christmas Message

By Rick Pearcey

News satire site ScrappleFace offers a bit of Christmas cheer with "Al Qaeda's No. 2 Releases Christmas Video."

According to Scott Ott at ScrappleFace, "Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second-in-command, today released his Christmas video through Al Jazeera TV." Date of release: Dec. 20, 2006.

ScrappleFace's mission: "News Fairly Unbalanced. We report. You Decipher."

To view "Seasonal Greeting from Ayman al-Zawahiri," click here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Banned in Pakistan

By Rick Pearcey

"Robert Spencer's latest book, The Truth About Muhammad, has been banned in Pakistan," writes Ivy Sellars in Human Events," the Capitol Hill weekly newspaper where I once was employed as managing editor.

Spencer's book, "published by Regnery (a Human Events sister company), was pulled off shelves after it was found to contain 'objectionable material' about Islam's founder, according to a notification obtained by the Kuwait National News Agency.

"The Pakistani government has confiscated all copies and translations of the book."

The rest of the article is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Bush Falling Down: Is Homosexual Adoption a Benign Reality?

By Rick Pearcey

WPost Attacks: "Deliberately bringing a child into the world without a father and exposing that child's moral formation to an atmosphere of homosexuality is a "benign reality," according to Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post," writes George Neumayr today in American Thinker.

"Marcus was writing in praise of 'Mary Cheney's pregnancy,' only regretting that it hadn't occurred during the 2004 election cycle, when a 'hugely pregnant' Cheney could have illustrated the clanging disconnect between the Republican Party's outmoded intolerance and the benign reality of gay families today.'"

Bush Concedes: "Unfortunately, the Republican Party isn't as reactionary as Marcus supposes. Hasn't she noticed that it is happy to make mindless concessions to social liberals like her? After all, George Bush evidently considers gay adoption a benign reality too.

"Quickly crying uncle to his glib questioners at People magazine, he predicted Mary Cheney will be a very good mother and 'loving soul' to her child."

Children Lose: "Bush's interest in the domestic culture war at this point is almost nil and his handling of it is certainly as questionable as his conduct of the Iraqi one.

"The rhetoric grows more and more depressingly empty: White House spokesmen rattle on about the danger foreign radicals pose to our 'way of life' even as they watch, with fashionable passivity, domestic liberals damage it. Is there nobody at the White House who can bring themselves to say that gay adoption is bad for children?"

The rest of George Neumayr's article is here.

Related Article:
"Rosie O'Donnell's Oppressive Coat: Imposing "Private" Homosexual Values on Everyone," by Rick Pearcey

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Bestselling Guide to the Mideast?

By Rick Pearcey

In an L.A. Times column titled "Hitler's Mideast Helpers," Max Boot notes that "while Europe has disowned its terrible history, the Nazis continue to be glorified in the Middle East."

Then, a couple of additional points about the Mideast:

1) "Nowhere else in the world is Holocaust denial so prevalent."

2) "Mein Kampf is a perennial bestseller in the region."

The Max Boot column is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Sam Harris on the Colbert Report

By Rick Pearcey

The End of Faith author Sam Harris discusses "faith" and religion with Stephen Colbert.

Harris seems not to know that the concept of "faith" he attacks bears little relationship to the Biblical information.

The video is from YouTube (the Colbert program aired April 26, 2006).

Related articles:
* On Faith, see "Secularism Takes Hit at British Airways," by Rick Pearcey
* On Christianity and science, see "Christianity a Science-Starter, Not a Science-Stopper," by Nancy Pearcey

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Former Bush Speechwriter Gerson Attacks "Fundamentalist" Republicans

By Rick Pearcey

"My low point with the Republican Party came in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," writes former Bush speechwriter and now Newsweek contributor Michael Gerson.

"The response of many Republicans was to use the disaster as an excuse for cutting government spending." . . .

Fundamentalist Republicans: "This reaction previews a broader, high-stakes Republican debate as we head toward the 2008 election. One Republican Party -- the Republican Party of movement conservatives on Capitol Hill and in the think-tank world -- will argue that the 'big government Republicanism' of the Bush era has been a reason for recent defeats.

"Like all fundamentalists, the antigovernment conservatives preach that greater influence requires a return to purity -- the purity of Reaganism.

"But the golden age of austerity under Reagan is a myth.". . .

"As antigovernment conservatives seek to purify the Republican Party, it is reasonable to ask if the purest among them are conservatives at all." . . .

"Jeb Bush" Republicans: "There is another Republican Party -- what might be called the party of the governors. It is the party of Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida. . . ."

"The future of the Republican Party depends on which party it wants to be -- the party of purity, or the party of the governors. In that decision, Republicans should consider: any political movement that elevates abstract antigovernment ideology above human needs is hardly conservative, and unlikely to win."

The rest of Michael Gerson's column, titled "The Republican Identity Crisis," is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Many Who Condemn Holocaust-Denial Helped Pave the Way

By Rick Pearcey

Bret Stephens, writing in OpinionJournal, traces the path from "polite society" in the West to Holocaust-denial in Tehran.

"'Not acceptable,' says Ban Ki Moon, new Secretary-General of the United Nations. 'Repulsive,' say the editors of Britain's Guardian newspaper. 'An insult . . . to the memory of millions of Jews,' says Hillary Rodham Clinton. Global polite society is in an uproar over the Holocaust conference organized this week in Tehran under the auspices of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Moral denunciation is what reasonable people do -- what they must do -- when a regime that avows the future extermination of six million Jews in Israel denies the past extermination of six million Jews in Europe," says Stephens.

"But let's be frank: Global polite society has been blazing its own merry trail toward this occasion for decades."

See the rest of "The Road to Tehran" here.

For a look at why Fascism "refuses to go away," see "Fascism Is Back."

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

WND Editor Blasts Rick Warren, World Magazine

By Rick Pearcey

WorldNetDaily Editor Joseph Farah has best-selling author and mega-church pastor Rick Warren in his sights. And World magazine, too.

* Rick Warren-in-Syria Controversy: "I'm ready to let go of the Rick Warren-in-Syria controversy – just as soon as Rick Warren stops deceiving people about what he did and said in that anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, totalitarian police state last month."

The WND editor "first criticized [Warren] for his trip to Syria back on Nov. 16." According to Farah, Warren emailed him "from Rwanda to question why we had not sought his comment, which we had. No one from his church deigned to respond to us after repeated attempts to reach any spokesman."

Farah also says Warren "suggested statements he made in Syria had been twisted by the official Syrian news agency. When I asked him for transcripts or any recordings that were made in Syria, Warren told me flatly that no recordings were made in Syria or any other country he visited on his swing through the Middle East and Africa." (emphasis added)

Then, says Farah, "I e-mailed him with a link to a YouTube video, posted by his own church, in which he made statements describing Syria as a 'moderate' country that doesn't permit 'any extremism of any kind." The upshot, writes Farah, is that the "video was quickly pulled from YouTube without further explanation. " (emphasis added)

* World Magazine Reporting: "Rick Warren recently spun his official yarn for a reporter at World magazine," says Farah, "who dutifully reported what he had to say, despite the existence of the recording."

Farah quotes World reporter Ed Plowman: "Some reporters even placed in [Warren's] mouth pro-Syria words he did not say, as at least one tape-recorded interview showed. . . . Some U.S. conservatives criticized Warren for going at all to a country that supports terrorism. Although the Associated Press avoided the inaccuracies in the government-run Syrian media, internet bloggers widely publicized the flawed Syrian accounts."

The World magazine story concludes with a quote from Warren: "Does it seem ironic to you that some believers trust Syrian press releases without even checking with the Christian pastor they criticize?"

* On the Other Hand: "The record speaks for itself," Farah counters. "Rick Warren's condoning of Syria, his praise for its moderation, his ignoring of the plight of the persecuted church there and official anti-Semitism in Damascus is now a matter of public record.

"We don't need the Syrian press releases. We have Rick Warren's own words, recorded by his own team and posted – at least momentarily – on YouTube. "

"What's truly ironic," says Farah, "is that at least one Christian media outlet has bought all the lies – hook, line and sinker."

The entire WND commentary by Joseph Farah is here.

The World magazine news report by Ed Plowman is here, at the bottom of the page.


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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Judgment-Free Hurts People

By Rick Pearcey

"The young women described in Unprotected have fallen victim to one of the few personal troubles that our caring professions refuse to treat or even acknowledge: They have been made miserable by their 'sexual choices.' And on that subject, few modern doctors dare express a word of judgment." . . .

Friends With Benefits With Side Effects: "Heather, for instance, has succumbed to an intense bout of depression. The doctor presses her to think of possible causes. She can't think of anything. Then she says: 'Well, I can think of one thing: since Thanksgiving, I've had a "friend with benefits." And actually I'm kind of confused about that' . . . .

"I'm confused, because it seems like I don't get the 'friend' part, but he still gets the 'benefits.' It finally dawns on her: 'I'm really unhappy about that.'

"Heather is not an unrepresentative case" . . . .

Depression, Suicide: These girls "are following the best advice that modern psychology can offer. They are enjoying their sexual freedom, experimenting, discovering themselves. They can't understand what might be wrong. And yet something is wrong. . . .

"Surveys have found that 'sexually active teenage girls were more than three times as likely to be depressed, and nearly three times as likely to have had a suicide attempt, than girls who were not sexually active.' . . .

Anonymous: "The author of this vivid and urgent book has published it anonymously precisely because she fears that if her employers and colleagues heard her unwelcome views, they would judge her negatively -- and punish her, personally and professionally. The anonymity, however understandable, is a shame: Her cause could use a visible and vocal crusader."

The entire OpinionJournal column by Danielle Crittenden is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Plagiarizing Judge Not Talking About "His" "Masterpiece" ID Ruling

By Rick Pearcey

"A historic judicial ruling against intelligent design theory hailed as a 'broad, stinging rebuke' and a 'masterpiece of wit, scholarship and clear thinking' actually was 'cut and pasted' from a brief by ACLU lawyers and includes many of their provable errors, contends the Seattle-based Discovery Institute," reports WorldNetDaily.

One Year Ago: "U.S. District Judge John E. Jones' 139-page ruling in Kitzmiller v. Dover declared unconstitutional a school board policy that required students of a ninth-grade biology class in the Dover Area School District to hear a one-minute statement that said evolution is a theory and intelligent design 'is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view.'"

Praise: "University of Chicago geophysicist Raymond Pierrehumbert called Jones' ruling a 'masterpiece of wit, scholarship and clear thinking' while lawyer Ed Darrell said the judge 'wrote a masterful decision, a model for law students on how to decide a case based on the evidence presented.' Time magazine said the ruling made Jones one of 'the world's most influential people' in the category of 'scientists and thinkers.'"

But: "An analysis by the Discovery Institute, the leading promoter of intelligent design, concludes about 90.9 percent -- 5,458 words of his 6,004-word section on intelligent design as science -- was taken virtually verbatim from the ACLU's proposed 'Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law' submitted to Jones nearly a month before his ruling.

"Judge Jones' decision wasn't a masterpiece of scholarship. It was a masterpiece of cut-and-paste," said the Discovery Institute's John West in a phone conference with reporters yesterday," reports WND.

In Other Words: The judge's decision is a 90.9% masterpiece of plagiarism, according to the figure released by the Discovery Institute.

Is plagiarism an unfair assessment? Apparently not, according to Princeton University's Wordnet, which defines plagiarism as a "piece of writing that has been copied from someone else" and "presented as [his] own work."

Questions of character are raised as well, for we appear to have in Judge Jones a person who is willing to take credit for work done by others. This kind of willingness to deceive does not engender confidence in the federal bench.

This critiques obtains even if the ACLU is a willing participant, an enabler, as it were, in the struggle for Darwinian survival. Most people understand that two wrongs -- two parties willing to deceive -- don't make a right. Not even if they are consenting adults. Not even if they have contracts. Not even if they are all "team players."

Note the parallel: Darwinism as a worldview tries to give credit to impersonal nature (or nothingness) for work done by the true Creator. On the other hand, a Darwinian judge tries to give credit to himself for work done by the true creators of "his" "masterpiece" of a ruling.

In both cases, truth is suppressed and the public is misled. It wouldn't be the first time a so-called "masterpiece" was not written by a so-called "master." These things matter much, of course, whether we are talking about the real authors of books and articles, or about the real author of life and of the human drama lived out by choice each day on this stage we call the universe.

WND says it "reached Jones' deputy, Liz O'Donnell, at the judge's chambers in Williamsport, Pa. But she said Jones would not comment. 'He appreciates being given a chance to comment; however, other than advising anyone to read his opinion, he will not comment on any Discovery Institute release,' she said."

Given the judge's previous performance in certain aspects of this case, one might wonder whether he is waiting for the ACLU to show him what to do.

Additional Articles:
* Darwinian Meltdown Reaches England, by Rick Pearcey
* Why Intelligent Design Will Win, by Nancy Pearcey
* Christianity a Science-Starter, Not a Science-Stopper, by Nancy Pearcey

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Editor Revolts Against "Christmas" Cards

By Rick Pearcey

* From a column by Jeff Jacoby: "If Christian belief and practice weren't vanishing from the British scene, Christian-themed cards wouldn't be, either. But some Britons, not all of them devout, are resisting the tide.

"Writing in the Telegraph, editor-at-large Jeff Randall -- who describes himself as 'somewhere between an agnostic and a mild believer' -- announces that any Christmas card he receives that doesn't at least mention the word 'Christmas' goes straight into the trash."

Randall writes: "Jettisoning Christmas-less cards is my tiny, almost certainly futile, gesture against the dark forces of political correctness . . . . It's a swipe at those who would prefer to abolish Christmas altogether, in case it offends 'minorities.' Someone should tell them that, with only one in 15 Britons going to church on Sundays, Christians are a minority."

* Opening lines from Randall's column: "My rubbish bin is full of Christmas cards. I threw them there." The rest of the column.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Stallone on Faith: Down, Out, Up

By Rick Pearcey

What Gives Rocky Strength: "As a young person you tend to think that the world somewhat revolves around you, that you can recover from anything, that you tend to have this kind of vim and vigor and energy to take on the world on your own shoulders. Well, after you've been knocked down a few times and the world has shown you it's dark side, you realize that you need guidance, you need God's word, you need spiritual help and that's when your journey will begin.

"So I, as I get older, I realize how -- very much -- I rely upon Jesus, the word of God, and his support. . . . Rocky, in the last -- in Rocky Balboa -- has lost everything. And, we see him triumph, and the last thing that he hears before he enters the ring is Scripture and that's what gives him the strength.

"And people realize that he doesn't fight for money, he doesn't fight for glory. It's fighting for a purpose and fighting for a divine reason to show that through him, through the ability, the God-given ability that he has that he can show other people the way to be an example.

"You don't have to be the biggest, or the strongest or the fastest. But if you believe -- truly believe - you will find a way to win." . . .

What Hollywood Understands: "Hollywood is somewhat of an isolated community, and it is a money-driven community, and I wouldn't say faith is right up there at the forefront. . .

"[P]eople need to drive home that fact, and though it may sound mercenary and self-serving, if we are to continue to do films like Rocky, like The Passion, like films that you can take your family to it, and by the way you can show year after year after year because the theme never goes away, then we have to go out and support it.

"That's the only message they understand. And though they supposedly, you know, are very liberal, what rules here, unfortunately, is success and it doesn't matter in what form. Well, I think it does matter."

Beyond Rock Bottom: "It was right after, around 1980, and I -- my marriage was not good and I felt myself being seduced by all the temptations that Hollywood has to offer. And it's a very, very morally weakening situation because you are given the keys to the candy store, people will say yes when you're wrong, before you know it your morals and you're outlook on life is corrupted. . . .

"My career spiraled down,and every time when it was at its very bottom, I would end up writing a Rocky, and somehow the moral compass of Rocky tends to give me new life. But then again I would not find love, not find anything I can really hang my hat on, and I would just give myself in to the, again, to the kind of like lackadaisical, irresponsible, immature lifestyle that a lot of stars live. . . .

"I hit rock bottom after my second marriage, and I realized my career also was stagnant . . . I said this is where I really have to take a moral compass and point it in the right direction. And I started to bring Jesus into my life and I said, you came here, you made it by writing passionately, you made it by living in a sense 'in the moment,' and not worrying about money, and not worrying about what people thought of you and just writing what came from your heart or what was driven through your heart by a greater power, meaning God.

"And as soon as I did that and I started to really take into account what I had given away and what I could get if I just started to live the right life -- right away I met my wife, who is the greatest person on the planet, who's given me three kids, who I would die for in a second.

"And everything just fell into place once I stopped trying to do it my way and did it the right way, and asked for help and God gave me help. I can think of no other reason how it would turn around because it sure didn't come from lawyers, and it sure didn't come from agents, and it sure didn't come from friends."

The entire Sylvester Stallone interview with Infuze magazine is here.

Related Story:

Dr. Phil: Jesus Christ "The Foundation"

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Download Study: "Masterful" Anti-ID Fed Ruling Copied From ACLU

By Rick Pearcey

Press Release from Discovery Institute: "The key section of the widely-noted court decision on intelligent design issued a year ago on December 20 was copied nearly verbatim from a document written by ACLU lawyers, according to a study released today by scholars affiliated with the Discovery Institute.

"Judge John Jones copied verbatim or virtually verbatim 90.9% of his 6,004-word section on whether intelligent design is science from the ACLU's proposed 'Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law' submitted to him nearly a month before his ruling," said Dr. John West, Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture" . . . . More

The study can be downloaded here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Fascism Is Back

By Rick Pearcey

"Fascism is back," Gene Edward Veith tell us in Modern Fascism: Liquidating the Judeo-Christian Worldview. But the daily news makes this clear as well, with among other items, reports of a Holocaust-denying conference held under the auspices of an anti-Semitic government that says Israel should cease to exist.

Fascism "refuses to go away," says Veith. "Fifty years after World War II, it keeps intruding upon our attention in odd facts and disturbing news. . . .

"The lunatic fringe, of course, is always with us, but we are also being confronted by signs of fascism as a larger social movement. . . .

"The implosion of communism was a great victory for democracy, but the vacuum has been filled by an intense, violent ethnic nationalism and the revival of overt fascist movements that had been suppressed since World War II but are still very much alive. . . .

"Unsettling cultural trends are intensifying throughout the West: cynicism about democracy; a yearning for charismatic leadership; economic disaffection; moral skepticism; a cultural irrationalism that breaks out in acts of inexplicable violence."

Fascism Back in . . .
* Academic Circles: "Fascism is back in academia. A recent biography of the existentialist sage Martin Heidegger has uncovered his extensive involvement in the Nazi party. . .

"Far more disturbing . . . is the ideology that is coalescing . . . in today's intellectual establishment. Cultural determinism; the reduction of all social relationships to issues of sheer power; the idea the one's identity is centered in one's ethnicity or race; the rejection of the concept of the individual -- such ideas have become academic commonplaces.

"The project in contemporary thought of dismantling Western civilization and critiquing 'humanistic values' (such as liberty, reason, and objective moral principles) is not new. All of the ideas are direct echoes of the fascist theories of the 1930s."

* Pop Culture: "The popular culture is the most fertile breeding ground for fascism."

* Mass Politics: "Instead of rational analysis of issues and reasoned debate, our political discourse turns on image manipulation through or mass media. . . . This was Goebbels' dream."

* Morality: "Moral issues are today almost impossible to discuss in objective terms. . . . Morality is reduced to social utility or the assertion of the will. This was precisely the Nazi ethic."

What Is Fascism?
"Only five decades ago, the world was in the nightmare of war and Holocaust. We seem to have forgotten everything. Putting aside images of goose-stepping villains from the movies, does anyone remember exactly what the fascists believed?"

"We must know what fascism is so that we can recognize it when we see it. . . . Racism alone cannot explain the virulence of Nazi anti-Semitism. . . .

"The fascists aligned themselves not only against the Jews but against what the Jews contributed to Western civilization. A transcendent God, who reveals a transcendent moral law, was anathema to fascists. . . .

"Fascism was essentially a spiritual movement. It was a revolt against the Judeo-Christian tradition, that is to say, against the Bible.

"Some fascists believe that Christianity could be purged of its Jewish elements; other believed it should be completely replaced. Some advocated a syncretistic Christianity, revising the faith to make it accord with the new culture. . . .

"The fascist rebellion against transcendence restored the ancient pagan consciousness. With it came barbarism, a barbarism armed with modern technology and intellectual sophistication.

"The liquidation of the transcendent moral law and 'Jewish' conscience allowed the resurgence of the most primitive and destructive emotions."

Veith's book is as relevant today as when it was first published, in 1993.

-- Gene Edward Veith, Preface, Modern Fascism: Liquidating the Judeo-Christian Worldview

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Brrr! . . . White Christmas in Georgia

Thanks to Southern ingenuity and a snowmachine . . .

Dr. Phil: Jesus Christ "The Foundation"

By Rick Pearcey

Talk-show host and Oprah protégé "Dr. Phil" McGraw and his wife, Robin, emphasized yesterday on a TV broadcast the centrality of Jesus Christ to their individual lives and to the life of their family.

What follows is a transcript of part of an interview from "Life Today," a show hosted by husband-wife team James and Betty Robison.

Robin McGraw is author of the recently published debut book Inside My Heart: Choosing to Live With Passion and Purpose. It's currently ranked 164 on Amazon.

From the interview –

James Robison: "Many of the problems that you [Dr. Phil] face every day -- when you've got individual guests, and then you know that television camera, people are looking in -- she deals with those problems.

"[In her book, Robin] literally takes the very issues that you face and, I think, provides firsthand knowledge and inspiration to deal with those problems. Would you agree with that?

"Dr. Phil: "I agree. She is my feminine side, and she always has been, not that I need one. And she talks about those [problems] from the woman's perspective. And I think it's so important that you [Robin] do that.

"And she talks about the choices that women can make. And being the heart of the home was one of the first choices you [Robin] made that was so important to us."

Robin: "Yes, absolutely. You know, probably the most important, and I've said this before, the most important decision I've ever made was to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. And I think because of that, it gave me the foundation, the basis of how to live my life and be who I am.

"And then, and of course, it was just magnified when I became a wife and mother. . . . I believe that my calling as a mother is the most important, is the most important thing I could ever do."

Robison: "I want to just say to all the viewers, pick up on what she said. And, Dr. Phil, would you concur that Jesus Christ is a great foundation, the solid foundation, solid rock upon which we can build our lives and homes?"

Dr. Phil: "I think it is . . . I don't think it is a foundation. I think it is the foundation.

"And I told Robin early on, to me, my relationship as a father with my boys, certainly [that relationship] fed me emotionally because I love being close to them, and all of that.

"But she asked me one time why I spent so much time at night talking to 'em, and that sort of thing, when it was time to go to bed. I told her, because I believe that our relationship with our worldly father prepares us for our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

"And the day'll come that I'll be gone. And I don't want my boys to be alone. I want them to have practiced, and seen me do it, and learn how to go to their Heavenly Father with their questions, their need for comfort, their interests, their guidance, and those sort of things.

"And I think if you make that the foundation of your home, then all that outside noise begins to drift away.

"We're not the only voice in our children's lives, but we need to be the best voice in our children's lives. And we can do that by talking about Christ in the home and a God-centered family. And that's what they need to do."

Webcast archives of the interview are available here in Quicktime, Flash, and MP3 formats.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Moore, Dixie Chicks, Sheehan -- Seeds of Intellectual Destruction

By Rick Pearcey

"It's always amazed me how quickly the American left managed to twist the 9/11 attacks into a club with which to beat their own country.

"I recall watching the smoke from the towers late in the day, exhausted from stress and emotions I could scarcely identify, and thinking, 'They'll never be able to defile this.'

"It was the end of the postwar flirtation with apostasy, I thought, the end of political frivolity, the birth of a new kind of patriotism, one annealed by fire, one that would become part of framework of the country, one that would last.

"Well -- they proved me wrong." -- J.R. Dunn, American Thinker

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Gap War on "Christmas"?

By Rick Pearcey

The American Family Association (AFA) is charging Gap with banning the word "Christmas" and replacing it with "Holiday."

The latest AFA Action Alert says Gap is blocking email but that people can express their concern by calling Chairman Don Fisher at 650-952-4400.

WorldNetDaily is on the case with "Has the Gap Banned Christmas?"

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Hastert Battles Democrat Over National "Christmas" Tree

By Rick Pearcey

"When Democrats won control of Congress in November's election, the victory may have reignited a controversy many Americans thought had been settled a year ago -- and that is what to call the national tree in front of the U.S. Capitol.

"In 2005, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., instructed federal officials to refer to it as the 'Capitol Christmas Tree,' after having been called the 'Capitol Holiday Tree' since the 1990s.

"But at last night's lighting ceremony for the 65-foot Pacific Silver Fir, the Democrat senator from the tree's home state of Washington never used the word 'Christmas' in her speech to the assembled crowd, opting instead for the term 'holiday tree' twice. . . .

"When it finally came to the actual lighting of the decorations, House Speaker Hastert used the word 'Christmas' at least a dozen times, and referred to the tree itself exclusively as a 'Christmas tree.'"

The rest of the article is here. HT -- Joe Kovacs, WorldNetDaily

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Media Alert -- New Radio Program

By Rick Pearcey

We received a Media Alert from Young America's Foundation.

"We are excited to announce the launch of Young America's Foundation new online radio program at Townhall.com."

More here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Secularism Takes Hit at British Airways

By Rick Pearcey

"Secularists tell us that God and religion are private matters that have no place in public life or polite society. This is not a convincing view, but it is a commonly held view, so much so that many otherwise bright people may affirm it without really having thought it through.

"It's not at all difficult to imagine the head-shaking going on at media outlets, university offices, public policy centers, and perhaps even some churches, upon hearing that a major airline, British Airways, is reconsidering its policy of banning employees, such as Nadia Eweida, from wearing a cross necklace or other such Christian symbol at work, in full view of staff and customers.

"But this concern, if not disdain, betrays a failure to understand that there are people like Nadia everywhere. There are billions of them. If you understand the concept of "worldview," you will not be caught off guard by this. And if you understand what Christianity is, you’ll be better prepared for what comes next."

The rest of Rick's latest column is here.

Speaker Update: Nancy Pearcey at U.S. Senate

Here's the updated information on Nancy's talk this Friday on Capitol Hill. The original announcement is here.

Topic: "Decoding" Worldviews in Art and Culture
Date: Friday, Dec. 8, 2006
Time: Noon
Location: Senate Dirksen Office Building, Room 406

The announcement from Faith & Law, the group hosting the event, says lunch will be served.

Faith & Law describes itself as a "fellowship seeking to examine the vocational implications of a Christian worldview so that congressional staff better understand the significance of their faith for their calling to the public square."

For more information, email info@faithandlaw.org. To RSVP, reply to RSVP@faithandlaw.org.

Tapscott Can Blog, But He Can't Hide

By Rick Pearcey

Actually, Mark Tapscott doesn't need to hide, and we don't want him to. The editorial page editor of the Washington Examiner does have a new blog address as of today -- and we congratulate him on a significant upgrade in cyberspace.

The "original incarnation of Tapscott's Copy Desk will remain . . . as an archive," explains Tapscott. And sometime after sunrise in your locale, Tapscott and his new site ought to be awake and ready to go.

Why the change? "Examiner.com is drawing more than a million visitors a month," says Tapscott. "Numbers like those should make it clear why I am so enthusiastic about moving from an independent blog to a publishing platform with vastly more circulation and immense potential for awesome growth."

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Regarding Britney

By Rick Pearcey

The Darwinian worldview says human beings and animals derive from the same cosmic stock. We are told by authorities that there is a difference in degree but not in kind between humanity and rest of the animal kingdom.

This is the enlightened view. Then comes Britney Spears without underwear.

Her fashion attire is as natural as anybody’s unclothed dog, and yet the human world is agog with news of Britney. If we hear news about animals and clothes, it’s usually when Spot has them on.

The meaning is clear: Darwin’s work is unfinished. Millions of people seem unaware that what’s good for the canine is good for the celebrity.

Our pet dog, Copper, who is head of ranch security at the Pearcey Estates, has said nothing on the matter. Then again, he doesn’t wear underwear.

He's totally cool about jumping in and out of cars. Shows no fear of the Dagarazzi.

Back to Britney and her critics. The world awaits a statement from AETH -- Animals for the Ethical Treatment of Humans.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Speaker Alert: Nancy Pearcey on Capitol Hill

Nancy Pearcey will be on Capitol Hill Friday, December 8, to speak on "'Decoding' Worldviews in Art and Culture," at an event hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based group "Faith & Law."

Why "decode" worldviews? This announcement explains:

"To navigate our times and communicate truth effectively, it is crucial to decipher the dominant worldviews of our day.

"Come learn about a creative approach to identifying the worldviews expressed in images and stories -- uniting intellect and imagination to bring a message of wholeness to a fragmented world."

Nancy's interest in the arts reaches back to her childhood, up through university days when she studied at Iowa State on a music scholarship. She also studied violin in Heidelberg, Germany.

Nancy will speak during the noon hour. A period of Q&A will follow her image-rich presentation. The room and building are TBD. We'll update as soon as we know.

Nancy is editor at large of The Pearcey Report and the author of Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity, which won an Award of Merit in the Christianity Today 2005 Book Awards, and the ECPA Gold Medallion Award for best book of the year in the Christianity & Society category.

Nancy has authored or contributed to several other works, including The Soul of Science and How Now Shall We Live? She is currently the Francis A. Schaeffer scholar at the World Journalism Institute.

Speaker Alert -- ID Leader Phil Johnson Tonight at UC Davis

"Phillip E. Johnson, 'the father of the intelligent design movement,' will be speaking on the UC Davis campus on Friday [December 1] at 7 p.m. in 123 Sciences Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the public. . . .

"Johnson is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated first in his class.

"After clerking for U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, Johnson taught at Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley for more than 25 years before retiring to devote more time to intelligent design."

For more, see the Daily Democrat.

Va. Public Schools OK With "Nativity Story"

By Rick Pearcey

CNSNews reports there's "No Fuss as Schools Prepare to Screen Nativity Movie."

“As religious groups continue to react to the exclusion of a Bible-based movie from a Chicago Christmas festival, Christian activists in Virginia are meeting no resistance as they move ahead with plans to screen the film in public school facilities," reports staff writer Nathan Burchfiel.

"Not only are the schools presenting no difficulties, but organizations traditionally hostile to the use of public property for religious purposes are also unfazed.

"Mount Vernon High School in Fairfax County, Va., is scheduled to host a screening of the "The Nativity Story" Thursday night [Nov. 30], the day before its nationwide release. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, also in Fairfax County, will host a screening Friday night.

"Both showings are sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a non-profit group that supports Christian clubs on high school campuses across the United States. The screenings are free and open to the public.

"The film, which is being released by New Line Cinema on Dec. 1, presents the biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ. City officials in Chicago angered Christian activists this week when they acknowledged they had asked organizers of an annual Christmas festival -- the German Christkindlmarket -- to reject sponsorship money from the studio." ...

"Organizers in Virginia report no opposition to the planned screening of the film, even though public facilities will be used."

"Jay Ruelas, an assistant soccer coach at Mount Vernon and one of the faculty sponsors of the FCA club there, told Cybercast News Service he had experienced "no resistance" from inside or outside the school system. Administrators, including Principal Nardos King, had been "more than helpful."

What the apparently unfazed are saying:

* Americans United: "Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the group didn't have any objection to 'voluntary events sponsored by outside organizations.'"

* Center for Inquiry: "Tom Flynn of the secularist Center for Inquiry said there was no law that would allow schools to reject the screenings, even though he felt the current laws were 'probably more lenient in this situation than is probably ideal.'" ...

* ACLU: "ACLU Virginia spokesman Kent Willis said the screenings were 'perfectly acceptable' as long as the schools were not sponsoring the event, they were not mandatory, and the Christian group was not getting any special treatment other student organizations would be unable to get."

Comment: What about the 1st Amendment, which says Congress "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"?

If we pay attention to the wording, we see that the emphasis in the 1st Amendment is on Congress. The Founders were worried about Congress, not about Christians.

Now The Nativity Story is a film, not a law passed by Congress. And, clearly, neither the public schools, New Line Cinema, nor viewers are Congress, and none of them is passing a law respecting an establishment of religion.

Furthermore, viewing The Nativity Story in the public schools does not establish a national denominational state church of the United States of America.

That is, viewing The Nativity Story in the public schools does not set up an ecclessiastical establishment, say, of the Anglicans (or Baptists or Presbyterians, etc.), as the state authority ruling over the federal government of the United States.

Thus, there should be no 1st Amendment-based concern about airing this film across the land, in or out of the public schools.

The 1st Amendment does forbid Congress from making a law "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion.

Congress has no business trying to regulate the expression of Christianity by the free and independent citizenry of the United States. This includes independent-minded, free-thinking Christians who set up Nativities in public spaces, who set up displays of the 10 Commandments at court houses, and so on.

Because human beings are persons who seek to actualize their inner lives, they always try to enflesh their worldviews out into their surroundings (even if their worldviews are inadequate descriptions of reality). Therefore secularists will continue their efforts to reshape American society along secular lines.

Ideologically, theirs is a struggle that crashes against not only the plain text of the Constitution (which continues to have a living impact precisely because its meaning is fixed), but also against human nature as made in the image of God and not the cosmos and not the state.

They struggle also against the Creator himself, who confounded corrupt political and religious authorities some 2,ooo years ago in an earthy place called Bethlehem. Those powers tried to keep the first Nativity from becoming a fact. Or at least a fact that lived very long.

And now a film about the fact is being welcomed in public schools in a country originally founded upon the fact. This is one of many reasons so-called free-thinkers might want to reconsider their faith in secularism.

Note: The entire CNSNews report is here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

Interview Rick About Nadia

British Airways check-in worker Nadia Eweida wants to wear a cross necklace in public while at work, which has stirred controversy in England.

What are your views? What questions does Nadia's struggle raise? What questions does the response of secularists or others raise?

So, Ask Rick.

If you'd like to put together 5-10 questions (or 1 or 2), please send them to Pro-Existence via the comment section below. Or send emails to pearcey@pearceyreport.com.

Secularists: Cross-Wearing “Conniving Religious Propagandist” at British Airways Not Persecuted

By Rick Pearcey

England’s National Secular Society (NSS) has published an editorial alert: “Christian Bullies Press Their Advantage.”

Chief among the bullies is 55-year-old Nadia Eweida, by day a veteran check-in employee in good standing with British Airways, but by night, the vanguard of a “new breed of Christian activists in Britain.”

She wants to wear a cross necklace to work, in full view of passengers.

The airline said no -- that it violates their dress code and may offend customers -- but is now reconsidering after British public opinion, politicians, church leaders, and Christian groups sided with Nadia, not with the airline.

The NSS wants people to know that Nadia is not being persecuted at British Airways.

After all, Nadia is:

Anything But Defenseless: “Through a relentless process of lies, misrepresentation, exaggeration and dissembling,” Christian activists “have managed to convince the country that a simple health and safety rule is, in fact, a persecutory attack on a poor, defenceless Christian lady. She is no such thing.”

Conniver: “She is a conniving religious propagandist who puts the promotion of her ‘faith’ before any other consideration.”

Insecure: “If Ms Eweida is true to her faith, then she does not have to make a big show of it. She should be secure enough to know that her cross is there underneath her uniform. But no – she wants to ‘tell people about Jesus.’”

Selfish: “Instead, we get this selfish woman insisting that she and she alone must have the right to break the health and safety rules. That her religion is more important than anything else.”

Ungrateful: “BA has fallen over itself to be fair to Ms Eweida. They have offered her another job away from the front line where she can wear her cross in whatever way she likes, but she won’t take it because she wants to make a point. She wants to present herself as a religious martyr.”

Religion-Shover: “She is a religious activist trying to shove her religion down everyone’s throats.”

There’s nothing like having the National SS around to protect the liberties of England from the dangers of Nadiaism.

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Rick Pearcey is editor and publisher of The Pearcey Report.

$50,000 Journalism Fellowships

By Rick Pearcey

Applications for $50,000 journalism fellowships are now being accepted by the Phillips Foundation.

The fellowships are open to "working journalists with less than five years of professional experience in print journalism," according to a press release from the 2007 Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellowship Program.

The foundation awards full-time fellowships of $50,000 and part-time fellowships of $25,000 to "undertake and complete a one-year project of the applicant's choosing," focusing on journalism that supports "American culture and a free society."

The foundation calls for applications to be postmarked by March 1, 2007. Fellowship winners will be announced the following May at an awards dinner at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The fellowships begin Sept. 1, 2007.

For more information and to see an application, visit the Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellowship Program website. The mission of the Phillips Foundation is to "advance constitutional principles, a democratic society, and a vibrant free-enterprise system."

John Farley of the Phillips Foundation can be contacted at 202-250-3887, x609 (email: jfarley@phillips.com).

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Rick Pearcey is editor & publisher of The Pearcey Report.