A couple of months ago there was a huge demonstration in downtown Orlando, called a "tea party." It received very little press, even though thousands of people attended. I wouldn't have known about it except that a couple of my family members inadvertently found themselves downtown, and were able to interact with a number of the attendees. They gave me a big report of the event. These "tea parties" were going on around the country and now there is an organized effort to hold numerous parties in America on Tax Day-- Wednesday, April 15.

12:17PM EDT 4/13/2009

Someone sent me this column called "Bickering Threatens to Break Apart Christian Coalition" by Kathleen Parker, a columnist with The Washington Post Writers Group. In it she analyzes what's going on with the religious right. After you read it, come back to our Web site and put your comments on our blog. Read the article here.

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In recent years, Christians have been subjected to a firestorm of hate crimes, much of which has been overlooked by the mainstream media. Ted Baehr, founder of Movieguide, the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission and the Christian Film & Television Commission are conducting a joint effort to bring hate crimes against Christians to light and hold attackers accountable. Read the article from Ted Baehr below to see how you can support this effort.

Defending the Christian Faith and Faithful

The tragic church shooting and death of Rev. Fred Winters, pastor of First Baptist Church, Maryville Ill., has once again raised one of the most under-reported issues within the media today: violence directed at Christians and churches.

3:33PM EDT 4/7/2009

As today is World Health Day, I thought you'd be interested in this item from Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. See his letter below.

President Barack Obama is proposing regulations to strike or weaken current policies implemented by the then-Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Mike Leavitt. The policies protect the conscience rights of health care workers. Congress has passed numerous laws over the past 35 years protecting such rights; however, no regulations had ever been implemented until Jan. 20, 2009 when regulations were put into effect to defend the conscience rights of healthcare workers. These regulations, which President Obama is planning to rescind, would ensure that programs that receive federal funds, including federal, state and local government programs, do not discriminate against health care workers who object to participating in such practices as abortion and sterilization.

A few times in life there is such great news that you want to tell everyone. Today is such a day. I've just found out my son Cameron and his wife, Maya, will make me a granddad next October. Maya went to the doctor today for her 12-week sonogram.

For me the only way to get out the news quickly is to share it with the 26,000 who read my Strang Report each week. So I hope you'll rejoice with me on this grand news, even though it's so personal in nature and not the usual commentary on social issues that I usually deal with.

Next week the Strang Report will begin coming out twice a week instead of just weekly.

And I now have a twitter account. If you were following me at www.twitter.com/sstrang, you would have received this grand news a few hours ago.

God bless you and have a grand weekend.

Steve Strang

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement in response to President Obama's invitation to Tony Dungy, former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, to join the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

"I was pleased to hear that Tony Dungy, former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, has been asked to serve on the President's Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. I may not be a sports buff, but I've always been a fan of men of character. Tony Dungy has been that for me and for countless Americans who admire him - not just for his victories on the field but in life. He has used his celebrity platform to promote adoption, prison ministry, family values, outreach to the poor, and simple Christian decency.

4:00PM EDT 4/2/2009

President Barack Obama's first judicial nominee, David Hamilton, is a former ACLU attorney, who as a federal trial judge issued a court ruling that said "No" to Jesus and "Yes" to Allah.

In 2005, this former ACLU activist ordered the Speaker of the Indiana House to immediately stop "sectarian prayers" at the opening of the legislative session. Hamilton ruled that prayers "using Christ's name or title" were unconstitutional. In a post-judgment motion for this same case, Hamilton ruled that prayers said to "Allah" were acceptable.

Just after a jury in Sedgwick County, Kansas, returned not guilty verdicts in the criminal case against late-term abortionist George Tiller, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts (KSBHA) released to the public a petition it filed in December listing eleven allegations against Tiller's license reports Operation Rescue.

According to a statement released by the KSBHA, "Violations alleged include performing an abortion on a fetus that was viable without having a documented referral from another physician not legally or financially affiliated with him; unprofessional or dishonorable conduct or professional incompetency; and commitment of acts likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public."

1:16PM EDT 4/2/2009

I've gotten good response to my new format.  I've added a link to a page where you can put your comments on the overall column in addition to commenting on each article.  Each time we issue the Strang Report we'll try to bring you what I consider the most interesting timely news of what is happening in what some have called "the cultural wars," including spiritual, cultural and political trends.

You may be interested to know our company has its own social networking site at ChristianLife.com.  I invite you to try it out.  It is very similar to Facebook, only Christian. If you join, be sure to add me as a friend.  And if you tweet, you can follow me at twitter.com/sstrang.

3:43PM EDT 3/25/2009

Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., commented today on the shooting of four Oakland police officers and the jailing of an Oakland pro-life activist last Friday.

"Four Oakland policemen were gunned down over the weekend while serving as protectors of human life," said Dr. King. "They will be forever heroes, victims of injustice. Only hours before they were struck down, however, another hero who tried to protect the innocent, Rev. Walter Hoye, was to a much lesser extent a victim of injustice as well.

11:57AM EDT 3/25/2009

A judge ruled March 23 that the controversial morning-after pill Plan B be available to 17 year olds without a prescription. U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman also ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider whether to make the drug available to girls of all ages without a prescription.

"Judge Korman based his decision on political talking points rather than facts. The FDA has never approved that a high-dose of a drug be available without a prescription when a lower dose of the same drug requires a prescription. But now an activist judge has ordered that minor girls have access to this drug without medical oversight or parental knowledge," stated Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America.

11:49AM EDT 3/25/2009

WorldNet Daily recently reported that Merriam-Webster, one of the nations most well known dictionary companies, has expanded the definition of marriage to include the uniting of “a person of the same sex in a relationship.”

Click below to watch the video.

11:30AM EDT 3/25/2009

On Monday Liberty Counsel filed a Reply Brief at the Florida Supreme Court, in which it argued that The Florida Bar should remain neutral in the homosexual adoption controversy. In addition to Liberty Counsel, the Petitioners include Anita Staver, President of Liberty Counsel, and Scott Dixon, affiliate attorney for Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel represents the interests of its staff and affiliate attorneys who are licensed by the Bar.

Liberty Counsel filed a Petition at the Florida Supreme Court on February 27; the Bar filed its Response and on March 23 Liberty Counsel filed its Reply. In its Response, the Bar admits that it is prohibited from taking sides on this or any other issue that has the potential of causing deep philosophical or emotional division among a substantial segment of the Bar. The Bar argues that the Family Law Section, membership in which is voluntary, is filing the brief, not the Bar itself, and that having only one law firm and two attorneys object does not make an issue divisive among a substantial segment of the Bar.

Note from Steve: As many evangelicals are saying the Republican Party is ignoring their socially conservative agenda for a more fiscally conservative focus, U.S. News & World Report recently reported that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has launched an organization centered on mobilizing religious conservatives. I thought you'd be interested in this. You can read more about it here.