Failing to Teach Our Kids

In today's Denver Post, head Post opinator Dan Haley hits the nail on the head.

See the article here.

At issue is the botched state attempt to land millions of federal dollars for public education. At play was nearly 400 million dollars for Colorado, which was a slice (big one) from a huge federal pie/grant of funding designed to improve public education.

The problem is that the state failed to include in its application a key piece: "improving the K-12 teacher tenure process by tying teacher evaluations to student achievement."

Simply, Colorado Democrats in the state legislature blinked in challenging the Colorado Teachers Association (CTA). The CTA has historically been one of the main funders of Democratic political activity in Colorado. They would have fired many bullets at this idea and vehemently opposed any linkage between teacher tenure and student achievement.

So, in our opinion, Governor Ritter and his Democratic legislative allies made a political calculation that they were better off keeping the CTA happy and the political donations coming than improving our kids classroom experiences.

Our kids will be the one to suffer.

Tiger Woods, Brit Hume and Christianity

Last week, former Fox News Anchor now senior news analyst Brit Hume stood Washington, DC on its ear when he made one of the most politically incorrect comments of the year: that Jesus Christ was the only solution to Tiger Woods immense personal problems.

The atheists, pc purveyors and every other anti-Christian group howled.

Speaking on the Fox News Sunday program, Hume candidly and accurately offered his solution for the problems besetting arguably the greatest golfer ever. Woods needed to put down his alleged Buddhist beliefs and embrace the forgiveness offered by Christianity. As an American, Brit Hume had that right. And personally, I agree with him.

In Matthew 10:22, Jesus taught that the world would hate those who followed him. In post-Christian and politically correct 21st century America, there's is plenty of anti-Christian animus. No one should be surprised. The anti-dote? More witness of Jesus Christ.

The Senior Washington correspondent for Politics Daily has come to Hume's defense and I find his remarks refreshing. While I don't agree completely with his conclusions, I find his comments accurate enough to be quoted here.

Here's the link and the entire text below.

Thirty years ago, as she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa told the story of a group of American professors who'd come to see her doing the Lord's work in Calcutta. Before taking their leave, they asked for a bit of wisdom to take home with them. "Smile," she replied, "for the smile is the beginning of love."

Mother Teresa's contention was that the first duty of a person who believes in Christ is to show others that you are happy -- that Christianity is working for you. This is the initial step in bearing witness to faith. A second is to enunciate that faith aloud. This would seem to be a requirement of those who follow Jesus; after all, he instructed his followers to give their testimony "to the ends of the Earth."
But the secular world can be as resistant to hearing the "good news" of the gospel as it was in Jesus' time, and few places in modern America are more secular than a big-city newsroom. Just ask Brit Hume, who had the temerity to offer a brief affirmation of his own faith this week -- and was promptly pilloried for it, especially in the media.

In case you missed it, Hume was on a panel of pundits talking about Tiger Woods' troubles. Noting that the great golfer once publicly identified himself with Buddhism, the faith of his mother, Brit Hume said: "I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

It was a pretty mild pitch, as these things go, but only if God-talk is familiar to you. It was clearly quite jarring to many of Hume's colleagues. In a typical reaction, Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal Constitution asserted that "faith is a private matter between that person and God, and is not a matter to be judged by some pompous TV anchor." In case Hume was misunderstood, Bookman subsequently called him "rude and crass" and guilty of "bad manners." MSNBC anchor David Shuster maintained that Hume had somehow "denigrated" and "diminished" Christianity. Even knowledgeable religion writers were nonplussed by Hume. USA Today religion writer Cathy Grossman asserted on her blog that the Fox commentator was "talking trash."
Others used the occasion for ad-hominem attacks on Fox News, Hume, and conservative Christians. (A few of these bon mots were clever: My friend E.J. Dionne passed along a quip making the rounds that Fox's new mantra should be: "We report, you convert.") But good natured ribbing seemed the exception. Many of Hume's critics tended to be mean, misinformed, and all-too-willing to engage in the very intolerance they were decrying.

Leading the charge was the Huffington Post, which makes sense in today's environment because it's even more partisan than Fox News -- and on the other side of the political spectrum. But an ideological point of view seems an inadequate excuse for the kind of invective on display at HuffPo. In one post, Hume was blasted for being "sanctimonious" and "distasteful" and "inflammatory." This much was true: HuffPo was certainly inflamed."Beware the Brit Humes in Your Office," blared the headline from another Huffington Post blogger. This one, penned by business columnist Eve Tahmincioglu, included the following passage: "The fact that a journalist -- and I use that term loosely as it pertains to Hume -- would go on a national news show and put down another high-profile individual's faith should tell all of us that religious bigotry, and bigotry as a whole, is a growing problem in this country."

The most steamed scribe may have been Tom Shales, the prominent television writer at The Washington Post. Shales complained in his column that Hume's comparative riff "sounded a little like one of those Verizon vs. AT&T commercials -- our brand is better than your brand -- except that Hume was comparing two of the world's great religions, not a couple of greedy communications conglomerates.""Further," Shales added, "is it really his job to run around trying to drum up new business? He doesn't really have the authority, does he, unless one believes that every Christian by mandate must proselytize?" Shales went on this way at some length, gratuitously (and inaccurately) insulting Calvin Coolidge along the way. Hume's "madness" and "off-the-cuff, off-the-wall" comments were, Shales insisted, destined to be "one of the most ridiculous" public statements of the year."First off, apologize," Shales instructed Hume. "You gotta."

Hume most definitely did not apologize. In fact, he was booked again on Fox News, this time as a guest, telling Bill O'Reilly that "if you speak the name Jesus Christ – and I don't mean to make a pun here – but all hell breaks loose." For those of us who knew Brit Hume before his conversion to Christianity, this droll observation was vintage Brit. It didn't do much for his critics, however. Jon Stewart, who prides himself on his sense of irony, mocked Hume for playing the victim, apparently not realizing that in his sneering segment Stewart confirmed what Hume was saying, which is that you could prescribe almost anything for Tiger Woods without making yourself the target – anything but a spiritual solution.
Certainly no one pushed back when commentators on nearly every network offered up the junk science diagnosis of "sex addiction" for Tiger Woods. You just couldn't tell Tiger to get his ass in church. Lisa Miller, writing in Newsweek, put it this way: "I'm not at all sure why the liberal left is always so shocked that evangelical Christians want other people to become Christians."But even Hume's rare defenders, such as Miller, couldn't countenance his overt comparison of Christianity to Buddhism. This is obviously politically incorrect, and it probably ought to be. I get that. In an era of worldwide sectarian violence, much of it propagated by religious fanatics who shriek "God is great," before killing themselves along with innocent strangers, the emphasis ought to be on ecumenism, not sectarianism.
That said, it's obvious that Hume has no particular animus for Buddhism; he was mainly using it as a rhetorical launching pad. Still, Woods is not known to closely follow any spiritual system, and practicing Buddhists didn't appreciate being used as a foil in Hume's brief sermon. But a funny thing happened when journos called prominent scholars of Buddhism for comment: They tended to confirm Hume's underlying point about the Eastern faith.

Stephen Prothero, a Boston University professor on Buddhism, told Tamara Lush of the Associated Press: "You have the law of karma, so no matter what Woods says or does, he is going to have to pay for whatever wrongs he's done. There's no accountant in the sky wiping sins off your balance sheet, like there is in Christianity." Added James William Coleman, a professor of Buddhist studies at Cal Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. "If you do what [Tiger Woods] has done, it comes back and hurts you."

In other words, although Hume may have been inartful, he was not necessarily inaccurate: Redemption is a concept flowing out of the Judeo-Christian tradition rather than Eastern thought, although, again I concede that truth is not always a defense to insensitivity. (And, as my esteemed colleague David Gibson noted, polling suggests that American Buddhists are less likely to step out on their spouses than Protestants. So one alternate lesson would be that Tiger Woods ought to embrace his mother's Eastern religion more faithfully.)

Hume's own faith journey.
I first met Brit Hume in the early 1990s when I covered the Clinton White House for The Baltimore Sun and Brit was the senior correspondent for ABC News. He was already an established presence in Washington journalism with an impressive resume, a hefty salary, and the diffident presence of a man confident in his own abilities. He'd sit in the front row in the White House briefing room or on the press plane doing crossword puzzles, seeming not to take the anxieties of the day too much to heart. He was known for a laconic sense of humor that could be earthy at times. One example comes to mind. The 1996 train trip to Chicago for Bill Clinton's second nominating convention was interrupted by the sex scandal of a Clinton campaign adviser named Dick Morris. Hume regaled his colleagues with an imagined scene in which Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who stayed at the Jefferson Hotel -- where Dick Morris had some of his liaisons -- called the front desk to complain that "the couple with the dog is making noise again." (It was an in-joke, obscure even then, that exaggerated on some of the claims made by Mr. Morris' hired escort).

My point is that Brit Hume didn't take himself too seriously. Once, because the men's rooms in the White House briefing room were occupied and Brit was preparing for a broadcast, I saw him putting on makeup by using the glass reflection on a vending machine. He looked back at me and shrugged, and said with a grin, "Helluva way for a grown man to make a living, isn't it?"

But he always took our craft seriously, which the writers on the beat appreciated especially because Brit had started in print journalism, first at a newspaper in Hartford and then briefly for United Press International before landing at the Baltimore Evening Sun. At a Washington seminar, he met Ralph Nader, who talked him into probing corruption at the United Mine Workers. It was a fortuitous pairing: Hume's work on the UMW culminated in a well-received book, an assignment to write a piece for The Atlantic Monthly, and a job offer with legendary muckraking columnist Jack Anderson.

Eventually, Hume landed with ABC. A solid reporter, he'd initially had trouble learning the ropes of looking natural in front of the camera. By the time I knew him, he'd mastered it, first on Capitol Hill and then at the White House. In 1991, he'd won an Emmy for his coverage of the Persian Gulf War and American Journalism Review twice named him in the "best in the business" at covering the presidential beat. In other words, nobody ever questioned Hume's journalistic chops -- until he went to Fox News.

I didn't know his politics, although I knew he'd had friction with ABC anchorman Peter Jennings. (Much later, Hume told Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post, that he pushed back on an assignment about how the first President Bush "isn't doing anything" by countering "Has it ever occurred to you that this guy's a Republican and Republicans don't believe that government is the solution to all the country's problems?")

In the next administration, Hume chafed under what he thought was a blind spot on the part of the ABC brass, Jennings included, when it came to the flaws of Bill and Hillary Clinton and he eventually jumped to Fox. Interestingly, although he had once lost his temper at Hume in a Rose Garden press conference, President Clinton made a point of saying he thought Hume's coverage was, well, fair and balanced. This happened on Dec. 13, 1996 at Hume's farewell White House news conference for ABC News when Clinton surprised us all by suddenly saying, "Brit, let me say before you leave, I know this is your last White House press conference ... but over the last several years, I think all of us think you have done an extraordinary, professional job under Republican and Democratic administrations alike, and we will miss you. And we wish you well, and congratulations on your new position."

Fourteen months later, however, tragedy struck Brit Hume and his family. On Feb. 22, 1998 his son and namesake, Alexander Britton Hume Jr., committed suicide. Sandy Hume, as he was known, was 28 years old, an up-and-comer in Washington journalism. He'd been drinking heavily one night, was arrested by the U.S. Park Police for driving under the influence, had tried to strangle himself in his cell, and then, inexplicably released by authorities, had gone home and shot himself.
Such a horror is not something you ever get over. But you have to go on, and Brit Hume was able to do so, by his own account, because of the people who reached out to him in God's name. Nearly 1,000 sympathy cards arrived, from strangers as well as friends.

"I read them all," Hume told Christianity Today. "My mailbox would be stuffed with them night after night. I'd weep over some of them. Some of them were prayer cards, some of them would tell me a tree had been planted somewhere. I felt that I was seeing the face of God. I felt people's support and love. To me it was a miracle. I've been trying to face up to the implications of believing in Christ and believing in God ever since."

It only stands to reason, then, that out of this crucible, Brit Hume would want to share that miracle with others who are hurting -- with Tiger Woods, for example. And so, channeling Mother Teresa and not Tom Shales, Hume's first duty is to smile, as painful as that must be some days. His second duty, as he sees it, is to share the reason he's able to smile. So why would anyone begrudge him that?
Well, one reason is excess partisanship. If you're a hater, all you need to see are the words "Fox News" or "Brit Hume" then you are against whatever he's for. I don't get that kind of thinking, and don't have much to say to those who engage in it -- but that isn't the only factor that made some people uncomfortable about Hume's homily. Like Sandy Hume, I'm a second-generation journalist, and old-school besides. There's a phrase we used to recite, a mantra, if I may mix my religious references, and it is very simple: "No cheering in the press box."

A Christian must bear witness to the very ends of the Earth, the Book of Acts tells us. A reporter ought to keep his opinions (and his religious beliefs) to himself. Two noble creeds that are occasionally at odds. Brit Hume came down on one side the other day, and seemed comfortable doing it. I submit that his critics would have more credibility if they toned down their own press box cheering – and their booing as well.

Denver Has More Pot Dispensaries Than Starbucks

No kidding here.

What a badge of honor. Denver is now known by those who advocate and use pot as the cannabis heaven of America.

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuane Laws, Denver has 390 pot dispensaries which have filed for tax status from city and county of Denver.

Statewide, Colorado has only 208 Starbuck coffee shops.

Compare that to Los Angeles, with four million residents, which has one dispensary for every 4,065 residents. Denver’s population is a mere 598,707, but has one dispensary for every 1,535 residents

How about a cannabis latte to go?

Health Care Taxes Will Impact You

Part of the "sell" job of Obama care was the promise that most middle-class Coloradans would be be severly impacted.

Now, new information is leaking out which torpedoes this misnomer.

Here is the latest story.

The devil is always in the details and we know very little about the details of this health care monstrosity.

Guiding Principles for 2010

Here are our guiding principles for 2010. What are yours?

-Believe and teach that there is a good God who loves us, sent His Son to die and save us, and who has a wonderful plan for our lives.

-Teach that the universe is meaningful and not random chance.

-Teach that the rule of law is essential.

-Promote and defend the value of stable families, which build stable communities which in turn create prosperous and moral communities.

-Firmly establish and maintain private property rights and laws.

-Delay gratification and teach that thrift is good.

Five 2010 Predictions

Happy New Year!

How many resolutions did you make for 2010 and have already broken?

2010 will be an interesting year on many fronts. Here are a couple of predictions:

-The Great Health care debate will continue. Despite the Great Nebraska "Payoff", John Q. Public is white-hot with anger. There will be a price at the voting box in November for our political leaders disregard of their constituents will.

-The war in Afghanistan will grind on. More troops will not solve this thorny problem. It will take years to turn around one of the most backward nation's in the world. I doubt we have the national will and patience to absorb the cost.

-The American economy will continue to struggle and be shackled under a heavy load of government taxes and regulations. Most Americans are still capitalists, though they may not know it. At least, we have all benefited to some degree under our free market economy. Under Obama, it will become an endangered species.

-There will be a tax revolt at some point, maybe not in 2010, but the seeds are being sown right now. The Bush tax breaks which have benefited many Americans sunset this year. In the future,. Americans will have higher taxes and less money to pay them.

-Obama, congressional and local elected Democrats will pay a price this fall. American voters are angry right now. The HOPE and CHANGE many of them though they were getting never showed up. Democrats will be big losers in the November election.

Return the Nebraska Gift

Happy New Year!

In Sunday's Denver Post, Colorado Attorney General Jon Suthers hit the nail on the head regarding the "Great Nebraska Payoff" ie the buyout of US Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson.

In order to secure Nelson's vote, the Democratic leadership in the US Senate inserted a provision to exempt Nebraska from its future financial share of Medicaid-which will expand greatly under Obama Care. The other 49 states would be required to pick up the tab for new Nebraska medicaid recipients.

We think that this action is not only dirty politics at its worst but is illegal.

Here is Suthers entire article. This is an issue that should concern Coloradans from both sides of the political fence.

The Great Nebraska Sell-Out

With all due respect to my Nebraskan friends, your US Senator Ben Nelson sold out.

NOw 49 other states will pay for Nebraska's medicare costs for new enrollees.

Call it a bribe, pay off, hush money or good old Chicago politics, but Senator Ben Nelson blinked, compromised his "values" and sold his vote for health care.

Here's the story.

Abortion? Federal dollars (yout tax dollars) will still pay for abortions.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who pushed through the restrictions in the House-passed bill, also rejected Nelson's deal. He called it "not acceptable" because it "would allow the federal government to subsidize insurance policies with abortion coverage." He said he intends to keep working to find a solution that would allow him to ultimately vote for the health care bill.

Senate Health Care Bill Creates New Marriage Penalty

Another bad element of the Senate Health Care bill has come to light. Not only will there be at least 17 new taxes to fund this monstronsity but married couples will also be penalized.

The Washington Times reports that Senate Democrats' health care bill would create a new marriage penalty by imposing a tax on individuals who make $200,000 annually but hitting married couples making just $50,000 more.

Here are the details. Sorry that this is long but the facts need to be known:

1. The new tax would rise from 1.45 percent to 1.95 percent for singles making $200,000 a year and couples making $250,000. Congress earlier this decade tried to reduce the marriage penalty in the income tax code by adjusting the standard deduction for single taxpayers and married couples and expanding the 15 percent tax bracket for couples filing joint tax returns.

2. Two single people, each making $30,000 per year, would pay $1,320 per year combined for private health insurance if the Pelosi bill was in effect now. But if they were to marry, they would then pay $12,000 a year (the estimated cost for private insurance for those who are not subsidized). This couple would be required by law to each year pay more than $10,000 in additional cost for health insurance under the House bill if they get married! The Senate bill works the same way.

3. The system works this way because it subsidizes those who make less than 400 percent of the poverty level. That benchmark is $86,640 per year for two people living together unmarried, but it is $58,280 for two people who are married — a window of $28,360, from $58,280 to $86,240, where two people are far better off living together unmarried as compared to being married.

4. This discriminatory system will have a big impact on people at lower income levels, too. They will realize that if they marry and improve their earnings, they’ll quickly reach a point where their health insurance premiums will skyrocket, increasing by over $10,000 a year. Only half of those insurance premiums will be tax deductible. This huge added cost will provide a powerful incentive to not marry and to also keep their income below certain levels.

5. There are powerful incentives in the bills for businesses to discontinue providing health insurance, which will force millions of couples into the individual insurance market. Once there, these individuals will receive their former health insurance benefits only if their combined income is below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Many millions of couples will then see their insurance costs go up by that same $10,000 figure — if they stay married —a cost they won’t pay if they


Contact your US Senator now and voice your opinion.

Disaster for America

The latest news out of Washington, DC is that the Democrat-led US Senate is poised to vote in the affirmative for Obama Care.

It will be a disaster for our nation and for families in Colorado.

Here are a couple of reasons:

-You will be forced to buy health insurance or face severe IRS penalities.

-Your taxes and costs will increase. The simple economic fact is that as businesses are saddled with increased government taxes for health care, they will pass on the cost to you. By the way, your taxes are going to increase too.

-For your tax "investment" you will ultimately receive a dubious product. Its so clandestine that the full scope of this new program remains in the dark for average citizens to review. This is bad news.

My summation is not based on right or left, Republican versus Democrat but on its cost to our nation. If this passes we will rue the day our leaders did this.

Two responses. First, our elected leaders are ignoring the will of their constituents. In every state, the polls show that Americans get it and that this deal is a bad one. Thus, every US senator who votes for it needs to be out of office in their next election cycle. Second, contact your US Senator now.

Here is the list.

A Tiger Moment

It is easy to rush to judge others, particularly when its someone who by the world's standards as everything in access.

Life has been good so far for Tiger Woods until this weekend. Now, that glass house is shattered.

Jesus encountered a shattered woman who had been caught in adultery. Jesus had several options. He could have confirmed the accusations of her accusers and acquised to her punishment, which in the Jewish culture of that time would have been death by stoning. Some of her accusers likely had stones in their hands. He also could have ignored the woman and left her to her fate at the hands of the mob. Or, he could take a third option. He took the third one.

In John 7:53-8:11, scripture records Jesus' response: Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first one to throw a stone at her."

Judgement and retaliation are easy. Forgiveness is not. Let's hope that Tiger and Mrs. Tiger find reconciliation.

Illuminating the World

Illuminating the World
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NIV)

In 1879, Thomas Edison would make on of the greatest inventions ever. Edison was not the first light bulb inventor, but he would be the most successful one. His story of inventing a workable incandescent light bulb for indoor use is remarkable. In the period from 1878 to 1880 Edison and his associates worked on at least three thousand different theories to develop an efficient incandescent lamp in the basement laboratory of Edison’s home. While other inventors would perfect Edison’s lamp, his invention would literally bring light to the world.

In 1882, the first Christmas tree was lit by the use of electricity. Edward Johnson lighted up a Christmas tree in New York City with eighty small electric light bulbs. It should be noted that Edward Johnson created the first string of electric Christmas lights that were then mass produced around 1890. By 1900, department stores started using the new Christmas lights for their Christmas displays.

For many, Christmas is all about bright lights. While colorful lights adorn trees and homes, their use symbolizes a deeper message of the season-a hopeful light in a dark world. Today, while Edison’s bulb illuminates the homes of mankind and Johnson’s outdoor bulbs cover Christmas trees, it’s Jesus Christ who illuminates the hearts of humanity. Jesus said in John 8:12, that “I am the light of the world.”

So, what light do you believe in?

Whenever you are challenged by an environment that is corrupt and ungodly, you have an opportunity to let your light shine before those in that culture. We may have little control of those around us or of events which dominate the headlines. But what we do have control over is letting Christ work through us, illuminating those around us. The more corrupt a culture, the brighter your light should shine.

Christians Unite With Manhatten Declaration

Last Friday, 152 Christian leaders across America from the Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical traditions signed a 4700-word document entitled “The Manhattan Declaration”. The statement, drafted by national Christian scholars including Robert George (Princeton University) and Timothy George (Samford University), affirms three key truths from American history. They are:

1.the sanctity of human life;
2.the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife;
3.the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

In an interview with Mike Huckabee Saturday, Chuck Colson, a member of the drafting committee, stated: “We pledge to one another that we will not compromise or be a party to a compromise to the fundamental principles on which the faith is based and on which our country is based as well.” Colson committed to Jesus’ command, to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's” (Matt 22:21), and quickly added: “under no circumstance will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

He went on to say that the community of faith is taking a stand for what is just and good, and those signing the document are prepared to pay the price. Colson quoted from Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, “An unjust law is no law at all.” On Friday’s BreakPoint, Colson stated: “The Manhattan Declaration is a wake-up call—a call to conscience—for the church. It is also crystal-clear message to civil authorities that we will not, under any circumstances, stand idly by as our religious freedom comes under assault.”

This document is unprecedented in American church history. This document is not a political statement though many will try to spin it that way. Its neither right or left, Democrat or Republican. Its simply a unified call by believers from all Christian traditions to confront our toxic culture with biblical absolutes.

Yet, despite what many secular historical revisionists are teaching our children, faith played a huge role in the formation of the values which anchor our nation.

Christian thought has shaped the Western world for centuries. It was Christian ideas that swept into practice such noble ideas as the rights of all humans; the right of property; the right of conscience; the right of tolerance; and the right religion. Our world will be much different if these values slip away.

If you would like to sign the Manhatten Declaration, visit here.

Morality Without God?

WORLD Magazine editor Marvin Olasky has a superb dialogue Dartmouth University professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on whether there can be any morality with God.

Here is the article.

I say no. Without God, one man's morality can become an other's tyranny. Case in point-Hitler and the Jews.

Teach the Bible in School? Of Course...

Since President Obama is on a roll with holding conferences to address thorny issues, let me suggest another one: convene a conference to address the volatile issue of religion in public schools. In particular, let's talk about teaching the Bible again in public schools.

I happened to believe that teaching students the Bible in public schools is a good idea. We are making this debate too complicated.

Now I know this debate can lead to great passion, but let's use a little common sense.

Here's why.

First, its a key source for the historical founding of our nation. Every point made in the 1776 Declaration of Independence was preached from a church pulpit before 1770. Understanding the biblical concepts of liberty, property and justice is crucial for students in their studies of the beginnings of our nation.

Second, the Bible is filled with all sorts of different literature that students can study. There's historical passages, poetic passages, didactic ones, apocalyptic and wisdom literature all wrapped into one magnificent book.

Third, professors from many of America's leading universities-Yale, Princeton, Rice, Berkeley and Stanford have consensus that incoming college students need to be well-versed in the stories, themes and words of the Bible. The context- they cannot understand Shakespeare, Milton or Wordsworth.

Fourth, biblical knowledge is key to understanding today's pop culture. Here's the deal. Take Stephen Colbert's irreverent humor on Comedy Central. Or the devilishly clever title of the band White Stripes release, Get Behind Me Satan. There are many movies and other cultural expressions embedded with biblical themes or twisted ones too.

Finally, in a 2008 sociological publication, research showed that regular church attendance positively affected students academic performance. There are several ways to interpret this data, but I choose to see this in the light of the benefit gained from biblical literacy as it is applied to life.

Everyone wins with biblical teaching in school. Christian families will feel positive and hopeful that these elective courses on the Bible will improve the school environment while other parents who want their kids to be high achievers just might start taking them to church....

Your thoughts?

Making Sense of Fort Hood

Like me, I am sure you were appalled at the murders which occurred at Fort Hood last week. It's incomprehensible to me that an American would turn his weapon upon fellow unarmed soldiers and randomly murder them.

There is a great danger lurking here for our nation. Its not jihadists or radical islamists. Its not our policies in Iraq or Afghanistan. It is more insidious than these. It is the anger we could seed into the lives of our children. History shows that rage always worsens with succeeding generations (see Bosnia, etc.).

You may not want to hear this, but most Muslims are not evil. We may not agree with their religious tenants, but that does not make them terrorists.

The tough challenge about Fort Hood is that we must practice discernment and not racial profiling. Scripture tells us to be discerning and in particular, on the lookout for the presence of evil. As believers, when we see evil we are to react
to it.

Major Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood murders, committed an act of evil. He needs to be tried in a court of law and if found guilty, held accountable for his actions. This is the appropriate action.

Uncontrolled anger fueled by fear is the wrong response to Fort Hood. We don;t need to nuke Muslims in the Mideast or drag peaceful Muslims from their homes. Racially profiling innocent Muslims is a throw back to some of the darker chapters of American history.

A Mandate for Action-Being a Gideonite

I am not sure what storms or life challenges you face today. Perhaps its a terminal illness. Perhaps its the loss of a job or mountains of debt. Perhaps its the end of a marital or friendship relationship. The fact remains that life is filled with storms, circumstances that can blow all of us off course.

I love the story of Gideon, the mighty Jewish warrior found in the pages of the Old Testament. Here was a guy from the smallest Jewish tribe, who found himself and his nation outnumbered and overwhelmed by fierce enemies.

In the Old Testament book of Judges, chapters 6-8, Gideon meets God who tells him to trust in Him. Gideon obeys and jumps into the deep end of the pool, trusting that God would provide the victories needed to deliver his people.

You can read the outcome of God's provision in Judges chapter 7. The takeaway for us today is this:

-God is just as trustworthy today as He was in Gideon's time.

-There is no storm to big or strong that God cannot provide a way for you to navigate through it.

-Overwhelming odds are no reason to give up what we know to be true. If Gideon had accepted defeat he would have never seen God work a miracle.

Whatever obstacles you face today, remember that God will go before you into your battle. Your response: to trust Him and jump in.

God Can Change Any Heart-40 Days of Life National Campaign

This is a must read story of a former abortion clinic's directors journey to God. Let me preface this one by affirming that God is in the business of redeeming dark human souls. Redemption and reconciliation is God's number one priority. Also, there is a great nation-wide effort to pray outside of abortion clinics touted as the "40 Days for Life Campaign." More below.

Here is the story.

For more information on the National 40 Days for Life Campaign, click here.

Unemployment Soars Hitting Families Hard

The latest national unemployment report is awful.

See the story here.

If your family where unemployment is ripping through you, there is not much immediate hope.

Our political leaders here in Colorado (Gov Ritter and crew) and in Washington, DC have acted obtusely in managing our economy, keeping taxes low and creating jobs.

In the long-run, government spending never spurs an economic recovery. The engine of our economy fires away when small businesses have the ability to create sustainable jobs.

The fact remains that sustainable job creation occurs when job creators have excess capital, low taxes and a profit incentive to produce. To our detriment, many Americas are clueless about the workings of our historic market economy.

Maine Affirms Traditional Marriage Definition

Defying the predictions of many, Maine voters repealed a law that had legalized homosexual marriage in this northeast state. In recent months, other New England states-New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut had joined Massachusetts in allowing gay partners to marry.

Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine -- known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate -- and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.

However, pro-marriage forces under the banner of "Yes on 1" won the day.

Here is the story.

A couple of points to consider:

-Gay marriage has now lost in every single state -- 31 in all -- in which it has been put to a popular vote.

-Those who would argue that Jesus would have endorsed gay marriage argue from silence. Scripture is clear on the definition of marriage-Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-5.

-Colorado passed a state constitutional amendment in 2006 defining marriage between one man and one woman.

-A vote for traditional marriage is a vote for our freedoms and liberties. As we preserve the family we preserve one of the historic hubs of freedom in our nation...