One of the basic principles of Christian morality dictates that the individual human being must be viewed as an end, not as a means to an end.

This principle can best be understood by contemplating one of the most lurid violations thereof ? the Nazi practice of using Jews and others they regarded as sub-human as involuntary subjects in medical experiments. In similar fashion, experiments with human embryos involve the destruction of human individuals often created for that sole purpose.

Such treatment of human beings is called utilitarianism, an ideology justifying the abuse of some in the service of what is considered the greatest good for the greatest number.

The federal government recently announced a $50 million, 5-year project under which medical researchers in hospitals would conduct experiments without obtaining permission from patients. The studies would focus on victims of car accidents, shootings, cardiac arrest, and other forms of trauma.

In its ethical perspective, that program is not far removed from the Nazi experiments that are now universally condemned.

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Sergeant First Class David Moore, commander of a platoon deployed in Khadimiya (Ca-DEEM-ee-yah), Iraq, describes himself as a ?conservative Texas Republican.? His father, mother, three sisters, a brother, and several uncles have also served in our armed forces.

After a grueling and dangerous deployment to Iraq last year, Moore's unit had been home exactly one day when they received orders to return.

Moore's men have exhibited the highest standards of military professionalism in nearly impossible circumstances. This is even more remarkable given that Moore, like most of his men, believes the Iraq war to be a fool's errand.

Three or four years ago, Moore observes, ?100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war. Now, 95 percent of my platoon agrees with me.? One reason this is so is the fact that American-trained Iraqi soldiers are increasingly turning their weapons against US troops.

How many more irreplaceable lives must be lost in this stupid and useless war?

Let us bring the troops home, now ? and stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

The motto of Russia's OMON Special Forces police is: ?Special Forces know no mercy and never ask for it.?

Frequently deployed on the battlefields of Chechnya, the OMON police have now been assigned the task of dealing with protests by political dissidents.

At a recent exhibition, OMON police proudly displayed their firepower, and demonstrated various techniques to break the arms, legs, back, and neck of anyone who happens to fall into their hands.

That's how it is in Russia. What does it say about our society, then, when we see the militarization of our law enforcement culture?

The Associated Press reports that ?scores of police agencies large and small, from Lexington, Ky., to Austin, Texas, [are] buying armored vehicles at Homeland Security expense....? Armor is increasingly used in ordinary crime patrols, and SWAT teams are routinely used to serve search warrants and deal with non-violent offenses ? such as underground poker games.

If we really won the Cold War, why is our society starting to resemble Russia at its worst?

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Despite passionate opposition from dozens of state governments, the Federal Department of Homeland Security has announced its intention to press ahead with implementation of the Real ID Act next year.

That measure requires states to develop federally approved driver's licenses containing computer-readable biometric information. This would be a national ID card, tied into a vast federal database of detailed personal data.

The expense and invasiveness of the Real ID Program have prompted many states to pass measures rejecting its implementation. Were our constitutional system operating properly, that would be the end of the matter, since under the Constitution the federal government is subordinate to the states.

However, Homeland Security Department spokesperson Russ Knocke insists the holdout states will have no choice but to comply: Those who don't have the federally approved licenses won't be permitted to board airliners unless they obtain a passport, which would contain the same computer-readable biometric data.

Our rulers are determined to build an all-encompassing system of human inventory control.

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

On May 7, police in Rochester, New York spotted 48-year-old Christopher Power sitting in the driver's seat of a parked vehicle. Although the motor was running, the vehicle was not in operation. The police had Mr. Power leave the vehicle and began to investigate him on suspicion of drunken driving.

While conducting a search, the police discovered an audio recording device that Power had turned on just before leaving the car. He was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and wiretapping ? a class B felony. The first charge is dubious, the second one ludicrous.

Citizens have an unqualified right to record their encounters with police, and would be wise to do so.

In July 2004, a gang of five corrupt law enforcement officers beat and tortured Tennessee resident Lester Eugene Siler for the space of two hours. The critical evidence that sent those corrupt cops to prison was captured by a concealed tape recorder.

Just because we need the police doesn't mean we should always trust them.

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

A Common Law principle holds that the word of a single accuser isn't sufficient to convict an individual of a crime.

This originates in the biblical requirement that ?... by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.? (Deut. 19:15b).

Thus it's odd that the unsupported accusation of a police officer is often enough to win conviction for various offenses, from petty traffic violations to felonies.

Russell Errett of Lancaster, Ohio was arrested on April 19 for driving while intoxicated. He received a citation, had to post $1,000 in bail, pay an impound fee to recover his car, and hire an attorney. All of this in spite of the fact a mandatory Breathalyzer test indicated Errett had no alcohol in his bloodstream.

The officer claimed that Errett had displayed symptoms of intoxication. If summoned to court, the testimony of the arresting officer would be given definitive weight over the physical evidence of the Breathalyzer, and the corroborating testimony of Errett's passengers.

This is entirely typical. It is also entirely unjust.

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Apparently it's not enough that Washington is borrowing its way to national bankruptcy. The Feds are also perversely determined to borrow trouble by cultivating terrorist groups within our borders.

Last week we were told that the FBI had stymied a plot by six radical Muslims ? three of them ethnic Albanians with ties to Kosovo ? to attack the Ft. Dix Army Base in New Jersey.

Relatively little attention has been paid to the role played by Washington in nurturing the Kosovo Liberation Army, a terrorist group also supported by Osama bin Laden. The KLA has a large support network in New Jersey, much of it composed of Albanian refugees resettled in the area during the 1999 Kosovo War.

That is a population rich with potential Jihadists, most likely including those involved in the alleged plot against Ft. Dix.

Incredibly the federal informant within that plot, a retired Egyptian Army officer, acted as the ringleader of the conspiracy, according to the FBI's criminal complaint.

Nothing good ever comes from borrowing trouble.

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.