Is this too graphic?

I’m all for school dress codes, but I wonder if the interpretation of this particular one might be going a bit too far. Back in April, a sixth grade student in California wore a pro-life t-shirt to school featuring a photo of an unborn baby.

The shirt featured the word “ABORTION” on the front with three squares below it. The first two squares showed images of fetuses and the third was black. Below the three squares was the caption, “growing, growing … gone.” The back of the shirt read:  “American Life League’s Sixth Annual NATIONAL PRO-LIFE T-SHIRT DAY April 29, 2008 www.ALL.org.”

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School officials contended that the shirt violated the school’s dress code, which states: “Personal...READ MORE

Sarah Palin

As various political figures posture and prepare for the 2012 Republican Presidential primary, one “winner” we can announce already is ... social media.

Most notably, Sarah Palin has turned Facebook into a political tool du jour. She doesn’t blog. She doesn’t need to. She Facebooks.

But Palin’s not alone in embracing new media for political gain. Newt Gingrich is on Twitter. And Mitt Romney is too.

But what does all this live, spontaneous, real-time interaction with political hopefuls mean for us, the voting public?

It means we have an opportunity to perform our duty as faithful citizens even more thoroughly. Even Catholics who don’t consider themselves “political junkies”—ones who...READ MORE

In this short video from the Christian Broadcasting Network, we hear the moving life story of former lesbian Janet Boynes.

Boynes, a victim of a dysfunctional family life and sexual abuse as a child, thought she had found love and meaning in a lesbian lifestyle. Ultimately, though, her life left her wanting.

“Although she had had a conversion to Christianity, Boynes says her lesbian experience led her to reject her faith and to enter into the homosexual lifestyle, with all of its turbulence and pain. She moved from one relationship to the next, became a cocaine addict, and developed bulimia, she says.

‘My life was miserable. It was starting to go literally down the tubes,’ says Boynes....READ MORE

Pro-lifer, Dr. Geoffrey Cly

Here’s a news story you have to read carefully in order to understand exactly what’s going on.

It appears that one of the most publicly pro-life doctors in Fort Wayne, Ind., Ob-Gyn Dr. Geoffrey Cly, has offered to “join forces” with the area’s best-known abortion providers, Dr. George Klopfer:

“Klopfer, an Illinois osteopath who has performed abortions in Fort Wayne for decades, made news earlier this month when he claimed in court to have received a death threat to his unlisted home phone from someone in the Fort Wayne area. The call came after Klopfer challenged the legality of the new county ordinance requiring out-of-town doctors without local hospital admitting privileges to provide...READ MORE

In the New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert gives us all a summertime nudge in the human direction:

Tweet Less, Kiss More

In recent months, concern about our overly “connected” culture has been a common theme among columnists in Catholic circles as well as secular ones.

We text, we surf, we chat, we tweet. But do we really connect with one another? Are we fostering meaningful human relationships?

Herbert writes:

“A friend of mine told me about an engagement party that she had attended. She said it was lovely: a delicious lunch and plenty of Champagne toasts. But all the guests had their cellphones on the luncheon tables and had text-messaged their way through the entire event....READ MORE

Harry and Barbara Cooper, CNN

Here’s a feel-good story in the midst of so much bad these days ...

Harry and Barbara Cooper met in 1937 and were married 4 months later. That means they have been married 73 years. 73 years!

I am so impressed.

On the day of their 72nd wedding anniversary, they leaned toward each other, hands tenderly clasped, as they peered into the camera.
‘It’s a give-and-take situation,” said Harry, as Barbara, giggled. “I give, and she takes.”

The Jewish couple has endured a lot together through the years—most tragically the loss of their two children (both to heart attacks) in 2007. And yet physically and emotionally, they remain healthy and strong. It’s easy to see that when you read their...READ MORE

I think I must have been out of the news loop in recent weeks. I was shocked to learn today that almost two weeks ago, the Obama administration banned the press from filming and photography in BP oil spill areas in the Gulf.

That link takes you to an Anderson Cooper clip from CNN. It’s definitely worth watching, as Cooper clarifies the ban and its significant infringement upon freedom of the press.

I think Cooper is absolutely right in his assessment that this isn’t about safety. This is about controlling the information that is given to the public. If the press isn’t allowed to see, record, and report on what’s actually going on in the Gulf, it will become awfully easy to hide failure...READ MORE

CultureGauge.com

As a parent of growing kids, I find that navigating popular culture is a never-ending and exhausting task. What is okay to let the kids watch, see, and listen to? What kinds of television, music, movies, and video games are being marketed to children today?

It can be challenging to keep up.

Finding the answers is never easy, but I am convinced that protecting our kids from negative influences and engaging them in conversations about the aspects of popular culture that are contrary to Christianity is one of the most important things we can do.

I am happy to have CultureGauge.com as a new weapon in my parental arsenal.

Jim Havens is the man behind the site. From the about page:

[Jim...READ MORE