Despite a successful pro golf career and the appearances of everything going right, in 1985 Bernhard Langer felt a void that he couldn’t explain. “I had just won the Masters, I’m driving to Hilton Head with my beautiful young wife, and I felt empty,” Langer said in a Sports Illustrated story. “I don’t know why.” The April 5 magazine story by Michael Bamberger recounts Langer’s conversion to Christianity shortly after that drive. “In Hilton Head, I saw Bobby Clampett,” Langer said, “and he asked me if I wanted to attend the Wednesday night (golf) tour Bible study group, and that’s […]

A young woman who overcame years of physical and sexual abuse, and then worked to change Florida law to better protect the rights of victims, arrived Tuesday at the historic Capitol steps after a 500-mile walk throughout the state during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Lauren Book-Lim, who endured childhood sexual abuse for six years at the hands of her nanny, concluded her journey of healing and awareness with a rally at the Capitol, where she called for funding for rape crisis centers and passage of legislation to protect victims of sexual abuse, including SB 870, which eliminates the statute of […]

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is considering establishing a “dot-xxx” domain for pornography. Family advocates say this will only worsen the problem of addiction and family breakdowns caused by Internet pornography. This is the third time ICANN has considered a dot-xxx domain. The initiative was stopped before due to strong opposition worldwide. Patrick Trueman, formerly chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, said the domain would only increase the amount of porn on the Internet and make it more available. “There is no evidence that the public wants or needs this […]

Gov. Dave Heineman signed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act last month, making Nebraska the first to ban abortions after 20 weeks. LB 1103 asserts that pre-born children experience pain during an abortion. Mary Spaulding Balch, state legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said research has shown that at 20 weeks, pre-borns have all the receptors necessary to feel pain. “Doctors who do routine surgery on unborn children now use anesthesia to make sure those unborn children do not feel pain,” she said. She expects the law will be challenged, and may even make it all the […]

Congress has ordered the president’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to find a way to pay for the $63 million a year in new spending for benefits of same-sex partners of federal employees. John Berry, director of the OPM, announced the decision last year to extend the benefits. In a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “…it’s been five months and we’re still waiting for those offsets, which…is preventing the bill from being taken up on the Senate floor.” Family advocates explain that it doesn’t matter whether there’s enough money because it violates the Defense […]

Congress has ordered the president’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to find a way to pay for the $63 million a year in new spending for benefits of same-sex partners of federal employees. John Berry, director of the OPM, announced the decision last year to extend the benefits. In a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “…it’s been five months and we’re still waiting for those offsets, which…is preventing the bill from being taken up on the Senate floor.” Family advocates explain that it doesn’t matter whether there’s enough money because it violates the Defense […]

Teen birth rates in the U.S. have recently declined after increasing in 2006 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The 2008 numbers show the rate declined by two percent among girls 15-19. The largest decline occurred among 18- and 19-year-olds, at four percent. Valerie Huber, executive director with The National Abstinence Education Association, said, “A positive trend begun a decade ago can continue.  We should redouble our efforts to help teens avoid all the consequences of sexual activity, including teen childbearing.” President Obama eliminated all funding for abstinence-centered education in his 2011 budget. However, due largely to […]