Even if you don’t follow baseball, you may have heard this story. On June 2, Detroit Tigers journeyman pitcher Armando Galarraga – whose 21-18 career record is hardly spectacular – was one out away from the rarest of baseball achievements:  the so-called “perfect game.”  Twenty-seven up, and 27 down. It has been done only 20 times in baseball history. Galarraga had retired 26 hitters, when the Cleveland Indians’ Jason Donald stood in. Donald sliced a hit to the right side that forced first baseman Miguel Cabrera to field the ball. Cabrera threw the ball to Galarraga, who ran to cover […]

Only 46 percent of Americans support the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll. That’s lower than the last five court nominations.Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said her lack of experience is cause for concern.  He also sees other red flags. “Her whole course of conduct against military recruiters at Harvard Law School is very troubling, and the excuses that have been offered for that simply don’t justify what she did.”The latest online buzz about Kagan is her support of Aharon Barak, a retired Israeli Supreme Court […]

Naples Planned Parenthood Abortion Emergency?This past May, a patient was rushed to a nearby Naples hospital after having a “procedure” performed at the Collier County Planned Parenthood. Transported via ambulance, little information was given about the patient’s condition. Cherie Wilson-Watson, who is a spokesperson for Emergency Medical Services in Collier County, stated that, “We received a medical call and transported someone to the hospital for evaluation.”Coincidentally, the incident took place on May 24, 2010,  a Monday, the only day the clinic performs abortion. During the time of the medical emergency, abortion opponents were protesting on a nearby sidewalk. Because of […]

Legislative trend may attract educational grantsEP NewsMore states are adopting teacher evaluation reform in an effort to get a second chance at the federal government’s Race to the Top educational grants. The legislative trend ties teacher tenure and pay to overall student performance. Louisiana is one of the most recent states to take action, approving a value added assessment for teachers. State Rep. Frank Hoffmann said that reform is indeed a positive step. “The concept stands by itself,” he said, “whether we had Race to the Top available or not,” he said. Matt Brouillette, president and CEO of the Commonwealth […]

  Occasionally, the unexpected happens. Recently, I decided to pick up some groceries at my neighborhood supermarket after work. I wondered,  “Would they have fresh avocados?” After my uneventful transaction with the cashier, I smiled and bid them goodnight, and headed for the store exit. But as I neared the door, I did a double take–walking into the store at that moment was the bass player from a world-famous rock band that I had followed as a teenager! The particular band he plays in, I happen to know, is still famous and tours the world regularly. I walked up to […]

We talk about prayer.  Most parents reading this article would say that prayer and communicating with God are extremely important.  Many who are still reading know the verse in Jeremiah that says God knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Readers may also be familiar with the verse in Psalms that says we are each fearful and uniquely made by God so that we can fulfill His specific plans for us (Psalms 139:14).  That being said, do we as parents actually include the training of prayer in our parenting curriculum?  Do we teach our children to pray?   […]

  I do not know what it is about Islam and liberalism that causes both to turn logic and truth upside down, but we have been witnessing it in different ways recently.  First there was the “humanitarian” flotilla running the Israeli blockade of Gaza and then there was the appalling anti-Semitism of Helen Thomas, formerly of the front row in the White House press room.  Suffice it to say that the so-called Palestinians are not living in a state of “occupation.” They have repeatedly been offered a state of their own, but have refused it for some six decades. They […]