Top Stories

First Presidential Debate Highlights Philosophies of Government

The first presidential debate is in the books now, as the 2 candidates sparred in Denver last night over the economy.  Republican challenger Mitt Romney also used the night to define the role of government. He pointed out that our founding documents set up a system of protecting the rights of individuals, and not have the government substitute itself for the rights of free individuals.

President Obama spoke of a federal governmental role that creates “ladders of opportunity” for its people.

President Obama reiterated his position that Romney wants to return America to failed policies.  Challenger Romney argued for the sanctity of life, and said the status quo is not going to cut it.

The next debate is October 16, but before that the vice-presidential candidates will square off a week from tonight.

Faith And Politics

It was not a big issue in last night’s debate, but the faith of the two candidates has been talked about quite a bit throughout the campaign.  Author Melody Gardner says that’s fine, but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. She warns against politicians who “wear their faith on their sleeve” because the implication could be made that what they say or the party they represent could mislead a person into thinking that it is in full compliance with that faith, and vice versa. She encourages us to find out more about leaders and politicians than simply what they say on the speech stump. Gardner’s new book is called “Christianity and Politics.”  You can hear the full interview via the link on the right side of this page.

Syrian Violence Continues

More fighting in Syria, as Turkey returned fire yesterday after 5 civilians were killed earlier in the week in a border village.  The escalation moved NATO to convene an emergency meeting.  More than 30 people were killed in the lastest artillery fire.

Tax Plan In the Works?

Analysts and pundits have been having a field day with the predictions of what will happen at the end of the year if a compromise isn’t reached on tax and spending cuts.  We have not heard a lot from the only people who can make that happen - and it may be because they’re working on it.  Senate Republicans and Democrats have been quietly working behind closed doors to either extend the Bush-era tax cuts, or make enough other changes to offset their expiration.  Word on Capitol Hill is that they are close to a multi-step plan.

Attend College Online for Free?

Going back to school is getting more affordable, like free, as more colleges are now offering free online courses.  The latest is Biola University, a Christian college in Southern California, which launched “Open Biola” last month, an online collection of lectures.  These “Massive Online Open Courses” really started gaining traction last year when a professor at Stanford opened up his classes, and 160,000 people in 190 countries signed up.

Baseball Triple Crowns a King. Playoffs Begin Tomorrow

Baseball’s regular season ended with a flourish yesterday and an historic milestone for Tigers’ slugger Miguel Cabrera, who became the first hitter in my lifetime – since 1967 – to win the Triple Crown.  Cabrera finished on top in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.  Playoffs are all set.  In the American League the Tigers take on the A’s, while the Yankees get the winner of Wild Cards Baltimore and Texas.  In the National League, Atlanta and St. Louis get the play in the wild Card game.  The winner faces Washington.  Cincinnati and San Francisco play in the other matchup.

Airline Promotion offers “Election Protection”

Maybe you’re tired of the campaign already, especially hearing from the guy that says “If so and so is elected, I’m leaving the country.”  Now you can get them a plane ticket when it happens.  JetBlue is promoting what it calls “Election Protection” – offering more than 1,000 free tickets to international destinations to people who register online and pick the candidate that ends up losing in November.  JetBlue says it’s a chance to recover from the political noise.  They are round-trip tickets.

Meningitis Scare in 5 States

4 people have died and more than 20 others in 5 states are now trying to recover from an outbreak of a rare and sometimes deadly form of meningitis, each of whom had received steroid injections for back pain.  18 of those cases are in Tennessee, where a Nashville clinic got the largest shipment of that steroid.  Also cases in Virginia, Maryland, Florida and North Carolina.

Church Around the World

Iranian Pastor’s Attorney Jailed

The lawyer who helped get Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani out of prison is now jailed himself.  Mohammad Ali Dadkah is a Muslim human rights attorney.  He had been previously convicted of representing people of other faiths and political prisoners and was sentenced to 9 years in one of Iran’s most dangerous prisons.  However, he had worked out a plea deal that allowed him to continue to practice and not serve any time.  Some sources say they believe Iran has reneged on that deal now that Pastor Youcef is no longer getting international attention.

Faith

Getting Out the Christian Vote

With just over a month to go before the election, there’s a new major push being made to register millions of Christians to get out the vote.  A group called Champion The Vote says only half of the 60 million Christians in America will vote in any given election, and if we would only make our voices heard we could help bring about positive change.

Family & Relationships

Kids Backpacks On the Way Out?

Those big backpacks your kids are carrying may not be needed soon.  Education Secretary Arne Duncan is hoping to move schools toward getting rid of printed textbooks in favor of digital ones.  That would allow schools to put all the necessary books onto one device, making it a lot easier to carry.  And it could even have study helps right on it, like how to solve for x in Algebra.  Boy could I have used that.

Work

Chrome Dome Economics

Wanna get the upper-hand on that promotion, guys?  Get out the razor.  A new study out of the Wharton School at Penn says men who shave their heads are perceived to be more masculine, dominant, and better leaders.

Health

A Challenge to Clean Out Your Medicine Chest

What’s your medicine chest look like?  A new effort is underway to help you clean it out.  The American Medicine Chest Challenge is a 5-step effort to try to stop prescription drug abuse and provide safe disposal options.  Those 5-steps include: Taking it as prescribed; Taking inventory; Making sure the medicine chest is secure – especially if there are young kids in the house; Talking to kids about it; And disposing of it correctly when you’re done using it.