On behalf of all thoughtful Christians, I would like to apologize for the suggestion of Pat Robertson to ‘take out’ Hugo Chavez. ments below do not represent any popular opinion or reasoned argument that would be supported by those evangelicals embracing prudence. Robertson had this to say on Monday’s 700 Club, “If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war....

Not in Michigan, after a recent Court of Appeals decision that overturned a decision of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, which had ruled that Brother Rice Catholic High School outside of Detroit must be allowed to organize. Dr. Samuel Gregg, Director of Acton’s Center for Academic mented on this story on Family News In Focus. You can listen to the program below (520 KB mp3 file). More: Acton filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals in support...

This feature from yesterday’s Marketplace looks at the “endless variations of designer hybrid dogs.” These new breeds crossing more traditional lines of dogs mand a large price tag. The “cute name” attraction, the possibilities of allergen free dogs, and the idea of getting the best of both breeds have put these designer dogs in high demand. My wife and I are currently considering getting a Cockapoo, a Cocker Spaniel and Poodle mix. I’m bringing up these new breeds, though, as...

Once again, my alma mater, Michigan State University, has been snubbed by the Princeton Review. While the list of the “Top Party Schools” does feature four Big 10 campuses, MSU, which hosted at least 3 major alcohol-induced riots in the past decade, fail to crack the top twenty. HT: The Daily Eudemon ...

Food aid destined for Zimbabwe is still stuck in South Africa Harare (ENI). At least 37 tonnes of food aid sent by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) to benefit victims of Zimbabwe’s internationally condemned “clean-up” operation are still in South Africa due to Zimbabwe government red tape that has held up the shipment for more than two weeks. The aid includes staples such as white maize, sugar beans and cooking oil. “All the paperwork has been submitted. We...

I was wondering how long it would take for this to happen. The acceptability of Google’s politics and public persona could only insulate it from the requisite corporate suspicion for only so long. In today’s New York Times, Gary Rivlin writes of growing distrust of Google: “instead of embracing Google as one of their own, many in Silicon Valley are skittish about its size and power. They fret that the very strengths that made Google a search-engine phenomenon are distancing...

As the new school year begins, Anthony Bradley reflects on the role of the parent in creating educational success. “Overall, children in loving, stable two-parent homes have an academic and social advantage over those who do not,” he writes. Read the full text here. ...

mentary from the Tax Foundation looks at government subsidies for the construction of a new stadium for MLB’s Washington Nationals. Analyst Eric A. Miller writes, “Funding a new stadium in the District may be good politics, but it is bad public policy. Major League Baseball will be laughing all the way to the bank while D.C. residents will find that they get much less than they were promised — and paid for.” HT: ...

I’ve talked before about plexities of government funding before with regard to the abstinence-program called the Silver Ring Thing. Now, on the heels of an ACLU suit, SRT is being faced with a cut-off in federal funding. The AP reports that the SRT may be in violation of Department of Health and Human Services regulations for not adequately separating “worship, religious instruction or proselytization” programs from the government-funded services. A letter signed by Harry Wilson, missioner of the Family and...

There have been countless analyses of Pope Benedict’s recent trip to World Youth Day in Cologne. But when es to looking at what the Pope actually says and does, no pares to Sandro Magister, who writes for the Italian publication L’Espresso. Check out his latest post, “After Cologne: The Remarkable Lesson of Professor Ratzinger” here. It concludes with links to the texts of the Pope’s speeches, all of which are worth reading. Unlike most other journalists, Magister focuses on what...

The National Council of Churches has had a rough ride in recent months with its Orthodox Christian constituency. The Antiochian jurisdiction has formally pulled out, citing a politicized agenda, and the Orthodox Church in America, which traces its roots to the Russian church, has been debating a similar move. In an article on Front Page magazine, Rev. Johannes Jacobse takes a detailed look at the hard-left politics of the NCC and its long history of munist despots. In “United Churches...

My sense is that the balance between political activism and personal evangelism among American evangelical leaders is often out-of-whack. A perfect example is the fight over FCC regulation of decency in the media. A huge cadre of evangelical leaders seem to rely primarily on political intervention and lobbying to fight indecency. This puts the cart before the horse. “Indecency” nearly always means some perceived illicit sexual content, so let’s look at how evangelical Christians are fighting pornography as a prime...