Signs and Wonders: 'Tolerant' gay activists attack street preacher

This is tolerance? Last weekend, “tolerance” reared its ugly head when angry pro-homosexual activists attacked two street preachers. A video of the attack now has more than a quarter-million views on YouTube. I’m not necessarily advocating the evangelistic techniques of the preachers. One of them held a sign that read “Repent or Else.” That message, though true for us all, is tailor-made to generate a reaction at an event like this. Whatever you think of the message, the preacher certainly had a right to proclaim it, but a group of women tried to rip the poster out of his hands. When they couldn’t, a man dragged one of the preachers to the ground and began beating and kicking him while some in the crowd cheered. When a friend wearing a “Trust Jesus” t-shirt tried to intervene, the crowd attacked him, too. You can watch the video here, but beware: it contains profanity.

Civil Wars continue. Lots of Christians have taken a strong interest in the duo The Civil Wars because the female half of the duo is Joy Williams, who had a successful career in Christian music, and because the band’s first album was produced by Charlie Peacock, himself a committed Christian, producer, artist, and writer. When the band started taking home Grammy awards and appearing on such shows as Austin City Limits, the interest grew. Then The Civil Wars unexpectedly cancelled a concert tour in medias res because of “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.” Now, though the band is still on hiatus, they have a new Peacock-produced album. Joy Williams is speaking out about the duo’s future—sort of. She says she and partner John Paul White are not on speaking terms, and White is not speaking to the media. So despite all that, look for the new album’s first single on Aug. 6. Expect it to be good.

Shakeup at Fox News. Fox News has hired Elisabeth Hasselbeck from ABC’s The View to replace Gretchen Carlson, who has been co-hosting Fox’s morning show Fox & Friends for seven years. Hasselbeck’s last day on The View is today. Carlson will stay on at Fox, but in a so far unspecified role. Fox chief Roger Ailes is making other changes to the network. He plans to move Megyn Kelly, the anchor of the two-hour afternoon program America Live, to a prime-time spot this summer. The question is: Who will get cut? Insiders say Kelly will replace Greta Van Susteren in the 10 pm slot.

Third time’s a charm. On its third try, the Texas House yesterday provisionally approved strong protections for the unborn. Lawmakers debated for more than 10 hours before voting. The legislature approved the bill mainly along party lines. A final, formal vote is scheduled for today. The measure then goes to the Senate, where it also is expected to pass. Gov. Rick Perry has already said he’ll sign it into law. The bill will require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, only allow abortions in surgical centers, and ban abortions after 20 weeks, among other provisions. The bill attracted national attention. On Monday night, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke to pro-lifers. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America represented the pro-abortionists with rallies and bus tours. If the bill becomes law, 37 of the state’s 42 abortion facilities could close.