Current Events Archives

No, Secretary of State Antony Blinken – Abortion is Not a Human Right

I sometimes wonder if government officials who champion abortion are blinded to the truth – or just knowingly embrace an indefensible position for the sake of ideological partisanship.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken comes to mind. He recently declared, “Standing up for human rights everywhere is in America’s interests.”

I would agree – it’s never right to embrace a wrong and defending the dignity of each person is a noble ideal. The United States may not be the world’s police force, but America has historically stood up for those in need, something we can all be proud of.

Yet during the same speech, Mr.

Topics: Current Events Tags: abortion, pro-life April 16, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

NY Times, Washington Post Attempt to Connect Massage Parlor Murders to Biblical Sexual Ethic

Details continue to emerge regarding last week’s murder of eight people at three different massage parlors in suburban Georgia.

The alleged gunman, Robert Aaron Long, reportedly told police his actions stemmed from a sex addiction he’s battling. Angry with himself, he apparently targeted women who enabled his desires.

It’s impossible to fathom how someone in that position would carry out such evil and horror – but that hasn’t stopped both the Washington Post and The New York Times from trying to pin the blame not just on Long, but his supposed belief system.

In short, reports in both papers have alluded to the 21-year-old’s self-described evangelicalism as the root of his actions, specifically a biblical sexual ethic that calls sex outside marriage sinful.

Sunday’s New York Times cited Dr.

Topics: Current Events Tags: current events March 23, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Confirmation of Xavier Becerra as HHS Secretary is a Troubling Turn of Events

Given his previous record of hostility to pre-born life, today’s confirmation of Xavier Becerra to serve as head of the Department of Health and Human Services foreshadows the coming of government sanctioned antagonism towards people with deeply held religious convictions.

Mr. Becerra has been a strong supporter of taxpayer-funded abortions, sex-selective abortions and while a member of Congress, voted in favor of partial-birth abortion. In the past, he’s also tried to force pregnancy resource centers, organizations committed to the preservation of life, to actively promote the destruction of it.

Topics: Current Events Tags: politics March 18, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Politics is Putting Children at Risk on the Southern Border

According to official reports, nearly 10,000 children arrived at our southern border last month without a parent – three times more than in February of 2020.

Although some are struggling to define and quantify the extent of the situation, there’s little doubt that it’s a growing humanitarian crisis, especially as facilities explode beyond capacity.

Why is this happening? What’s going on? And why should we care deeply about it?

While it seems obvious that many of those coming across the border believe President Biden’s immigration policies are more favorable to them than President Trump’s, this current crisis has been years in the making.

In part, it’s the combustion of tyrannical, oppressive regimes driving desperate people to exploit inconsistent and unenforced American immigration laws.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, politics March 17, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

If the Stimulus Bill is Supposed to “Rescue” Americans – Why is it Funding the Killing of Babies in the Womb?

President Joe Biden is expected to sign by week’s end the latest COVID-19 relief bill, a hotly contested and fiercely debated piece of legislation filled with massive pork, including funding for abortion.

Known as the “American Rescue Plan of 2021,” the stimulus doesn’t include language from the Hyde Amendment, legislation that has historically prohibited taxpayer dollars from funding elective abortions. Money from this will further fill the coffers of groups like Planned Parenthood.

Public opinion polls suggest the American people favor this third round of government spending, particularly because most taxpayers will see payments of $1400 per family member.

Topics: Current Events Tags: abortion, government March 10, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Things Every Family Needs to Know About What’s Happening in Washington D.C.

President Biden’s administration is just over one month old, but there are many developments since Inauguration Day of interest and relevance to the family and the issues we as believers at Focus on the Family care deeply about.

Congress is expected to begin debate this week on H.R. 5 – otherwise known as, “The Equality Act.” The legislation would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

Don’t be fooled by the title of the bill.

Topics: Current Events Tags: policy, politics February 24, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

YouTube’s Silencing of LifeSite is Chilling Example of Censorship

Just weeks after the social media giant Twitter blocked Focus on the Family’s Twitter account, it was announced earlier this week that YouTube had banned and removed all videos from LifeSite News, one of the internet’s most popular venues for pro-life information.

Their offense?

A spokesperson for YouTube suggested the pro-life site violated its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

“In accordance with our long-standing strikes system, we terminated the channel LifeSite News Media for repeatedly violating our COVID-19 misinformation policy, which prohibits content that promotes prevention methods that contradict local health authorities or WHO,” the spokesperson said.

Topics: Current Events Tags: free speech February 12, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Are Evangelicals Christian Nationalists?

Earlier this week, USA Today published a provocative editorial titled, “Christian nationalism is a threat, and not just from Capitol attackers invoking Jesus.”

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), our guest on today’s broadcast, was singled out by the essayist and falsely accused of being one of those dangerous individuals who uses his faith for political purposes.

It’s true the senator is a devout believer in Jesus Christ and a strong defender of his country – but that doesn’t make him a religious nationalist – that is, someone who fuses his love of God with his country in idolatrous fashion.

Many of us cringed when we saw Christian symbols and signs inside the Capitol melee of January 6th.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, politics February 4, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Censoring and Silencing of Conservative Speech

The late Democrat senator from New York Daniel Patrick Moynihan once famously observed, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

But not according to Twitter, the social networking service with 330 million users.

As I mentioned last week, Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen was blocked from the site and accused of “hate speech.”

The tweet in question simply stated, “On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he had chosen Dr. Rachal Levine to serve as Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of HHS.

Topics: Current Events Tags: free speech February 1, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

President Biden Champions Abortion – But the March for Life Goes On

On the eve of the March for Life, in what can only be considered as a poke in the eye to those of us seeking to protect preborn life, President Joe Biden rescinded the “Mexico City Policy” on Thursday – a safeguard that has prohibited the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions overseas.

What happened to your call for unity, Mr. President?

In a recent poll, over 77% of Americans oppose this action. Yet as he signed the executive order in the Oval Office, President Biden suggested the policy would ensure healthcare for women.

Abortion is not healthcare, but what about the health and care of those little babies, President Biden?

Fittingly, an icy, winter wind is blowing across Washington, D.C., today, less than 24 hours before the start of this year’s March – the annual commemoration of the Supreme Court’s tragic 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states.

I’m in our nation’s capital, absorbing the sights of National Guard troops and barbed wire – but still grateful for those who will be standing in solidarity for the innocent children who have no voice.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is forcing this year’s March to look very different than previous editions, when hundreds of thousands of people usually descend on this city.

Topics: Current Events Tags: march for life, pro-life January 29, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura