After a week of vacation (my new last name might give it away), here’s a round-up of items I’m catching up on:
– President Obama called the killing of pro-life activist Jim Pouillon “deplorable.”
“Whichever side of a public debate you’re on, violence is never the right answer,” he said in a statement released yesterday.
– An adopted Christian teenager could face deportation to England for refusing a vaccination. Simone Davis says she has no reason to receive Gardasil, which protects from sexually transmitted HPV, because she has taken a virginity pledge, ABC reports.
– A group called Personhood USA tells the Associated Press that it has chapters in 29 states trying to get “personhood” measures passed that would define fertilized embryos as persons.
– Dan Gilgoff spoke with former Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page about his frustrations with President Obama’s advisory council for the faith-based initiatives.
What good am I doing? I wouldn’t go out huffing and puffing but saying, “Have I made any positive contribution?” Within the next month or so I will be able to understand if my own time is well spent there. I’m praying deeply about the issue. I can’t say I’m leaning either way at this point.
Cathy Lynn Grossman writes more about the frustration from a panel at the Religion Newswriters Association conference.
– Al Mohler and John Piper had some nice things to say about President Obama’s address to school children.
– Several conservative Christians visited the White House and met with President Bush during his tenure, according to a report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
– Focus on the Family founder James Dobson visited the White House 24 times during President Bush’s time in office, 10 of which he met directly with Bush.
– Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, made 50 visits, six of which were visits with Bush.
– Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, made 43 visits, four of which were with Bush.
-Gary Bauer, president of American Values, made 10 visits.
– The late Jerry Falwell made eight visits, three of which were with Bush.
-Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, made 14 visits, two of which were with Bush.
-Louis Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, made 19 visits and two visits to Bush.
-The late Paul Weyrich made 17 visits, including six visits to Bush.
-Donald Wildmon, Founder of the American Family Association, made three visits to the White House between July 2001 and March 2003, including one visit to President Bush.
