Current Events Archives

Honest Mistakes

“There’s no crying in baseball!” At least according to Tom Hanks’ character in the 1992 film, A League of Their Own. But is there forgiveness? Thankfully, the answer to that question is, well, yes. Have you been following the drama in Detroit that featured Armando Galarraga’s near perfect game this past Wednesday?

If you missed the action, with two outs in the 9th inning and with Armando having retired the previous 26 batters, first base umpire Jim Joyce called Cleveland’s Jason Donald safe, although replays clearly indicated he was out.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, kids, pop culture June 4, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Remembering Art Linkletter

America lost one of its good guys last week when the affable and genial Art Linkletter passed away at the age of 97.

Art was the host of two of television’s longest-running programs, “House Party” and “People are Funny.” Like millions of Americans, I have terrific memories of watching him talk and laugh with young children. Being a child myself back in the 1960s, I could relate to the kids appearing on his show. In fact, I can remember thinking they looked and thought and sounded a lot like me.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, events, faith, pop culture June 3, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What Makes a Good Judge?

That’s the question I posed to my friend Chuck Colson during a recent Focus on the Family radio program that discussed President Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Kagan is a former Dean of Harvard’s law school and clearly a very bright and accomplished scholar. But during our visit, Chuck expressed some deep reservations about the Solicitor General’s nomination. Chuck’s objections were not based on her intellect but instead her judicial philosophy.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, policy May 18, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Who Stole the Cross?

About 75 years ago, the Veterans of Foreign Wars erected a 5’8″ white cross in the Mojave National Preserve, an area now controlled by the National Park Service out in California’s desert.

Officially known as the “Mojave Memorial Cross,” it was put in place to honor the fallen heroes of World War I. Not everyone is happy with its presence atop Sunrise Rock. For the better part of a decade, this memorial has been the subject of a fierce court battle.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, policy, pop culture May 13, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What if Someone Did Find Noah’s Ark?

As I scanned the headlines last week, there’s one that caught my eye: “Has Noah’s Ark Been Found on Turkish Mountaintop?” According to news reports, a number of evangelical Turkish and Chinese explorers believe they’ve found Noah’s Ark resting 13,000 feet upon Mount Ararat on an eastern Turkish mountain. Although encased in ice and snow, one of the explorers, Yeung Wing-Cheung, said, “It’s not 100% that it is Noah’s Ark, but we think it is 99.9% that this is it.”

Yeung made the startling statement based on several factors.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, news May 2, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Welcome to Denver, Tim Tebow!

As a football fan in general and a Denver Broncos fan in particular, I was elated to see our home team select Florida’s Tim Tebow with the number 25 overall pick in last night’s NFL draft. Dusting the snow off our local papers in our driveway this morning, I was greeted with the following headlines in my Denver Post and Colorado Springs Gazette:

“Professing Faith: McDaniels Makes His Tenure-Defining Choice in Florida QB”

“Mr. Eye Black A Black Eye?”

“McStunner: Tebow”

Sports coverage around the country is echoing a similar theme.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, events, pop culture April 23, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Planned Parenthood’s Pleasure Principle

A couple of months ago, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) began worldwide distribution of a guide for young people entitled “Healthy, Happy and Hot.” The 20-page brochure advocates the sexual and reproductive “rights” for those who are infected with HIV with an emphasis on having “fun, happy and sexually fulfilling lives.”

Before commenting on the troubling aspects of this pamphlet, let me say that my heart goes out to those who are living with HIV or the AIDS virus.

Topics: Current Events Tags: intimacy, kids, sex April 15, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Tiger Woods and Billy Payne

Yesterday marked the opening of the famed Masters golf tournament at Augusta National and, more precisely, the official return of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour.

Augusta National is a beautiful slice of the American South, but for lovers of the game, it’s more than just a picturesque course. In fact, it’s been called golf’s Garden of Eden. “If there’s a golf course in heaven,” Gary Player once remarked, “I hope it’s like Augusta National.” But then he added dryly, “I just don’t want an early tee time.”

How four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods will ultimately fare against the competition is anyone’s guess.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, events, marriage, news, pop culture April 9, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Serfdom vs. The Mother of Invention

Townhall columnist John Stossel penned an insightful and unsettling article yesterday entitled, “Hurtling Down the Road to Serfdom.” Here’s what caught my eye. Stossel’s premise is that “we are changing from independent, self-responsible people into a submissive flock. The welfare state kills the creative spirit.”

That’s a strong statement. But Stossel cites data released by the Tax Foundation which documents “60% of the population now gets more in government benefits than it pays in taxes.” Better read that again—it’s unreal!

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, policy February 11, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Virgin Territory

During the SEC Media Day last summer, Tim Tebow was fielding questions from journalists when he said something that shocked the press. In between tackling questions about future aspirations, strategy, training, and using his platform to share his faith, Tebow was asked, “Are you saving yourself for marriage?”

Without missing a beat, Tebow answered, “Yes, I am.”

Silence. No follow up question.

Writing for the Washington Post, Sports Columnist Sally Jenkins said, “The room fell into a hush, followed by tittering: The best college football player in the country had just announced he was a virgin.

Topics: Current Events Tags: news, pop culture February 9, 2010 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura