You are free to surf porn in any New York City library you happen to be in.

Indeed, there are more than 200 libraries in the Big Apple—libraries that tap into federal funding—that are more than happy to let you use their computers and Internet connection to view naughty images online. Doesn’t seem to matter if there are kids within eyeshot.

“Customers can watch whatever they want on the computer,” said Brooklyn Public Library spokeswoman Malika Granville, told the New York Post.

After all, watching smut is part of your First Amendment rights. Or is it? Morality in Media insists that the First Amendment does not protect pornography viewing in public libraries according to the US Supreme Court.

“The New York City Public Library System is more than 10 years out of date and wrong on its porn-on-every-library-computer policy,” says Patrick Trueman, president and CEO of New York-based Morality in Media.

Indeed, 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act, clarifying that public libraries are free, and encouraged, to ban porn from computers. In fact, libraries that accept federal funding are required to have blocking or filtering measures in place. Specifically, on computers that are accessed by minors, the protection measures must block or filter Internet access to materials that are: obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors.

“What is the message that the American Library Association and the New York Library System are trying to convey to patrons, particularly to children?” asks Trueman. “Porn is demeaning, depicts violence, particularly rape, and portrays girls and women as mere sexual objects with no self worth. Parents should storm library board meetings demanding protection from the scourge of pornography and until a policy change comes, keep their kids away.”

What’s 400 years old and red in some places? The King James Version of the Bible.

Now, the creators of YouVersion, a digital version of the Bible, are organizing a flash mob around the King James Version of the Good Book to celebrate its 400th anniversary—and it may be read all over.

Indeed, if YouVersion pulls of its grand idea it will be the largest and fastest Bible-reading event in history.

Here’s the deal: YouVersion is asking for people to participate in reading an assigned portion of the KJV Bible during a six-minute 40 second time-frame—or 400 seconds total—beginning at 12:00 p.m. EDT on May 2.

On the day of the event, participants are invited read their passages out loud, share photos and posts on Twitter and Facebook, or even arrange a meetup to read their passages with friends. YouVersion will also switch the default online Bible version to the King James Version.

“I believe this global Bible reading event shows just how far we have come and where we are going with access and interaction with the Bible,” says Bobby Gruenewald, Innovation leader at , creators of YouVersion.

Interested in participating? You can sign up on

Career Day usually features the likes of dentists, lawyers, and chefs. A Larose, La. elementary school just hosted a man of God at its annual event—but not without a legal confrontation.

Larose Lower Elementary School had a ban on inviting clergy to Career Day. So when Pastor Gary Hanberry, the grandfather of one of the students, wanted to offer a presentation on the volunteer work he does in a Kenyan orphanage, he was shunned.

It seems the Larose Lower Elementary School claimed that Hanberry could only make his presentation if every religion was invited to make presentations at Career Day.

That’s when the Liberty Counsel got involved.

“I am astounded that the school district attempted to screen out a career day message on helping orphans solely because the speaker was a pastor,” says Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law. “A public school cannot censor speakers solely because of their Christian faith.”

Larose Lower Elementary School was relying on the Establishment Clause, but the clause does not require the district to eliminate any and all messages with religious overtones or subject matter, even if the district was completely responsible for selecting the material.

In fact, Liberty Counsel points out, there is no constitutional violation when public schools and their teachers include symbols, music, art, drama or literature with overtly religious themes within the mix of curriculum or assemblies—so long as the primary purpose for including the religious element is secular, not religious. Hanberry’s Career Day presentation fit that mold.

In fact, Liberty Counsel notes, it would have been a violation of Hanberry’s rights of religious expression protected in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution if the school upheld its on ban Hanberry’s presentation solely because it is religious. In the end, the man of God offered his presentation with the school’s blessing.

Blindsided. That’s how troubled actress Lindsay Lohan said she felt after hearing a judge read off her sentence for violating probation.

Lohan was sentenced to 120 days behind bars, though she plans to appeal. She posted a $75,000 bond on Friday. The “Mean Girls” actress was arrested in February on a grand theft charge for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store.

Although Lohan was shocked, prison minister Marty Angelo wasn’t.

“I am sure it is a sad time for the Lohan family to see Lindsay being hauled off to jail again. My thoughts and prayers are with them,” Angelo told a listener on his bi-weekly radio show. “I think a jail or prison sentence is an excellent tool God uses to get one’s attention when everything else fails to work to voluntarily change out of control behavior. Lindsay Lohan is a perfect example. I think the judge was also wise to sentence Lohan to 480 hours of community service at a downtown women’s center and the Los Angeles County morgue.”

What will it take for Lohan to change? A willing attitude, Angelo says.

Angelo offered to serve Lohan’s jail sentence when she was sentenced in 2007—if she was willing to complete a 12-month Christian faith-based residential treatment program. Lohan, however, did not respond to that, or three similar offers the prison minister made as she continued getting into trouble with the law. As Angelo sees it, Lohan is not yet willing to change.

When the radio listener asked Angelo if he would again offer to serve Lohan’s current jail sentence, he said no: “One can only offer help for so long to a person who does not see their own need to change. I think my four attempts are more than enough. However, I do continue to pray God will do whatever it takes to save Lindsay. I have faith Jesus Christ will ultimately change her life when she is ready.”

ABC News has issued a long overdue public apology to Dr. Frederick K.C. Price. for painting him in an opportunistic light.

Four years ago, ABC News aired a misleading report about the founder of Crenshaw Christian Center. Correspondent John Stossel reported the story called “Enough!” on the television network’s popular 20/20 and Good Morning America programs in March 2007.

The premise of the segment was to explore ministers of large churches that use donations
to support their lavish lifestyles. ABC aired a 10-second video clip of a sermon during which Price said, “I live in a 25 room mansion, I have my own $6 million yacht, I have my own private jet and I have my own helicopter and I have seven luxury automobiles.”

The problem is ABC took the video out of context to support its story. Had ABC News broadcast the full context of his remarks, its audience would have heard and seen the pastor saying: “Well I was pointing out that there is such a thing as bad success.”

ABC failed to air Price explaining that the hypothetical rich man’s wife was unfaithful, his children were on drugs and his friends only liked him for his money.

Angela Evans, president of Crenshaw Christian Center and Dr. Price’s daughter, said watching the ABC story was really devastating to the family and the church: “We couldn’t believe that such a highly respected company as ABC News would do such a thing.”

Now, ABC is admitted that it misled its audience and failed to live up to its own standards.

“ABC News apologizes for any harm caused to you as a result of its broadcast of a video clip that ABC News stated was of you speaking about yourself when in fact you were talking about a hypothetical person,” said Kerry Smith of ABC News in a statement to Price. “ABC News regrets that it did not conduct sufficient investigation of the clip after receiving it to establish its correct context. By presenting the footage out of context, ABC News misled its audience and failed to meet its own standards, which ABC deeply regrets.”

The public apology gratified Price. “We had faith that this matter was in God’s hands,” he said. “And once again God has shown us that when we trust in Him and act in good conscience we are led to the truth, and to a place of abundant joy.”

Anthony M. Glassman of Glassman, Browning, Saltsman & Jacobs, Price’s attorney, said ABC’s statement was a significant admission for the venerable news organization, a division of the American Broadcasting Company, which is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

“ABC has gone to unprecedented lengths to apologize to Dr. Price and set the record straight,” Glassman said. “Dr. Price and his family are pleased that ABC has acknowledged its error, and its failure to sufficiently investigate the video. I am sure that the members of his congregation, who were greatly upset by the ABC story, will be pleased as well. ”

View the video of Price’s entire 53-minute sermon, which was originally televised in 1997 on the Lifetime Network. The relevant part of the sermon begins at 13 minutes and 20 seconds.

The resurrection message is important to every believer, but especially to those in desperate need and to those watching it change lives daily. The church of Cuba has both of these categories covered.

Bright Hope International brings hope to those who live on less than a dollar a day by providing physical care in food, clothing, shelter, medicine and education; economic assistance through microloans and job training; and spiritual care by explaining the Gospel and introducing people to the only One who can truly save them.

Bright Hope has been doing all of these things and more in Cuba for almost 10 years. A large focus has been church planting, which has proven to result in many lives transformed. In the 10 years the ministry has been on the island, Bright Hope has gone from supporting a handful of pastors to over 500.

“We’ve seen what we believe is a real flourishing of people interested in the Gospel and coming to Christ,” confirms Bright Hope president Craig Dyer. The church has been booming in Cuba to a greater degree than in almost any other region Bright Hope works.

In response to the hard work the church has been doing and the enormous growth they have seen as a result of God’s goodness, Bright Hope wants to do something special for Cuban believers this Easter. Easter celebrates Christ’s resurrection: arguably the most important message of Christian story, and Bright Hope wants pastors to be able to preach that message without being concerned about basic needs.

So this Easter weekend, Bright Hope is giving Christians the opportunity to be a part of the phenomenal church growth in Cuba by contributing to a few basics for pastors. For just $15, someone can support a pastor for an entire month. For $139, you can buy a pastor a bicycle so he can reach more people at a quicker pace with the Word. You can even build a whole house church for a gift of $1,500.

“These are just simple ways to empower the church to continue to grow in Cuba,” explains Dyer. Nurturing their growth is imperative during this time of openness and tremendous response.

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Ambassador Tony Hall is fasting and praying to protest proposed budget cuts that he believes will hurt vulnerable people—and Latino leaders are joining him.

“One of the major challenges of our generation is the challenge of ending hunger,” says Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. “We are fasting because we believe we as a nation can do better to address poverty and hunger disparity. Doing nothing is not an option!”

Also joining the fast are former Governor Bill Richardson, Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA), Margaret Moran, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

 “The Latino community would be devastated if the proposed cuts to programs benefitting the hungry and poor in America were to become law,” says Margaret Moran, LULAC National President. “Draconian cuts to Head Start, WIC, and SNAP programs are mean-spirited and unnecessary. Congress should not attempt to balance the budget on the backs of the hardest working yet lowest paid Americans.” 

 The  movement was first announced on Monday, March 28th by Ambassador Hall who stopped eating and started fasting 25 days ago, challenging people of faith and conscience to join him, pledging to put pressure on Congress to form a “circle of protection” around programs benefitting poor and hungry people.  

  To date over 36,000 Americans, 28 Members of Congress and the leaders over 40 diverse organizations—including Bread for the World, Sojourners, World Vision, American Jewish World Service, Islamic Relief USA, Feed America, Share Our Strength, ONE,  and SEIU—have joined the HungerFast movement.

“Mommy, can I take my Bible to school today?” Nine words that brought both delight and concern to my heart. Delight that my then 10-year-old darling would love Jesus enough to take Him to school with her in leather-bound form. Concern because I knew that love would breed persecution I wasn’t sure she was yet ready to fully understand.

So I did what any good parent would do. I said, “Of course you can take your Bible to school. Remember, Jesus’ words are in red.” Then I prayed for the prophetic youngster and sent her off to the public school system with a homemade lunch in one hand and the Word of God in the other. Knowing I wouldn’t be there to protect her—and not knowing what devil she might face when she opened the good book during the after school care program—I committed her to the Lord’s covering and believed the best.

Do you know what happened? (This is the cool part.) Within 15 minutes of the school bell ringing she had assembled a small youth group that was quite intent on hearing her declare what Jesus had to say about attitudes, money and other issues they deal with on an every day basis. One little boy, she later told me, was even taking notes. It was a bona fide Bible study—and then it happened. One of the teenaged counselors barged in on the peaceful gathering, shrieking, “Put that book away! You might offend somebody!”

Not phased by the unwelcome interruption, my bold young daughter continued to read. Rebellious? No, the head of the program, also a Christian, had already given her express permission to read the Bible to her curious playmates. Indeed, it was the devil-inspired teenaged counselor who was rebelling against authority by insisting the Holy Ghost campus meeting come to an abrupt end. So my daughter continued reading…until she had to use the restroom. When she returned, the counselor had put her Bible away. So what did my little angel do? Of course, she pulled it back out and kept right on reading. Hallelujah!

My daughter didn’t truly understand what was happening, but the Spirit of God in her saw it for what it was and empowered her to speak the World boldly. That’s just what we should be doing in the face of opposition to our inclusion of Jesus in every day public life. It seems to me that far too many people are concerned that Christians are offending co-workers, classmates and others with the gospel of the kingdom while a relative few seem concerned about offending Christians with their secular humanism, New Age philosophies and potty mouths.

Christian living demands prayers for boldness and emboldened prayers. It demands speaking and acting boldly. Like Peter and John, people should be able to see our boldness and marvel, knowing that we have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). They should be able to recognize the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in us. If you look up variants of “bold” in your handy dandy concordance, you will quickly discover that the use of words like “bold,” “boldly” and “boldness” in the King James version are almost always—yes, almost always—used in conjunction with on-fire believers.

Take the apostle Paul, for example. He prayed that when he opened his mouth he would speak forth boldly (Ephesians 6:19). He preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus (Acts 9:27). He spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians who wanted to kill him (Acts 9:28-29). He spoke boldly in the synagogue even though the people spoke evil about Jesus (Acts 19:8). In fact, Paul “spake boldly” everywhere he went. Even when he was an ambassador in bonds he spoke boldly (Ephesians 6:20). Do you see the pattern yet?

The righteous are as bold as a lion—and you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus expects you to be bold for Him rather than compromising with a compromising world. In fact, Jesus said, “Whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in Heaven” (Matt. 10:33). But let’s take it a few steps beyond Christianity 101 and the confession of faith in the face of disbelief and get back to the subject of persecution for a moment. Don’t stop reading now or you’ll miss out on a blessing. After all, the Bible says if you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake you are blessed, right? (Matt. 5:10)

If you are going to pick up your cross and follow Jesus you are going to find yourself pushing against a wall built by religion, humanism, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. If you are really going to make a difference in this world for Jesus rather than befriending the world, then you are going to get to experience the blessings that follow persecution. If you are going to fulfill your destiny, folks, you are going to have to share in Christ’s sufferings. I know this isn’t a pleasant thought, but if all I did were write about Christian living as flowery bed of ease I’d have to answer to Jesus for it on the day of reckoning.

In the years ahead I believe Christians will see greater persecution, especially if we continue to allow principalities and powers to invade and occupy our land through false religions. Although I’m quite sure the suffering won’t compare to that of our brothers and sisters in many other nations who are beheaded for speaking the Word boldly, it may be unsettling for some who are accustomed to the American gospel.

So why not do as the Apostle Paul did? Why not do as the disciples in the Book of Acts did? Why not begin praying for boldness so that we can confront the issues that have eroded our American values? Why not gather among our own company, lift up our voice to God with one accord and pray to the Lord God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them? Why not call on God in the face of wickedness rising up and rulers gathering together against the Lord and His Christ? Why not pray that the Lord would grant us boldness that we may speak His Word and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of His holy child Jesus? (Acts 4)

I challenge you today to begin praying for boldness. I believe then we’d see a shaking. Then we’d be overflowing with the power of the Holy Ghost. Then we would speak the Word boldly as we should. Take it from my daughter. She continued to carry her Bible in her backpack and defends her right to do so. Oh, out of the mouths of babes…

Jennifer is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including the Fervent Faith. You can e-mail Jennifer at @ or visit her web site at .

You believe in prayer power. But Keele University researchers are suggesting a differnet kind of power to alleviate pain: cussing.

Indeed, the study insists that spewing foul language out of your mouth can relieve pain. But get this: it’s only for people who swear infrequently. If you have a prolific potty mouth you might be out of luck.

Although Keele’s previous research affirmed that swearing can reduce the feeling of pain, this new study examined whether people who swear more often in everyday life get as much pain relief from cursing as those who swear less frequently.

Here’s the rub: Seventy-one participants aged 18 to 46 completed a questionnaire that assessed swearing frequency. Researchers assessed pain tolerance by how long participants could keep their hands in icy water.  Findings revealed that the more often people swear in daily life, the less extra time they were able to hold their hand in the icy water when swearing, compared with when not swearing.

“The important message from this latest study is interesting because, while saying that swearing as a response to pain might be beneficial, there is evidence that if you swear too often in everyday situations the power of swearing won’t be there when you really might need it,” says Dr. Richard Stephens, co-author of the study.

“While I wouldn’t advocate the prescription of swearing as part of a medicalized pain management strategy, our research suggests that we should be tolerant of people who swear while experiencing acute pain. Indeed, I occasionally receive letters from members of the public recounting episodes in which they, as adults, have been chastised for swearing during a painful episode. They feel that my research findings vindicate their actions.”

As for me, I’ll stick with the prayer power. How about you?

President Obama proved to be a social media sensation in the 2008 elections. Now, he’s gearing up to attract new friends before the 2012 campaign begins.

Obama on Wednesday held a Facebook Town Hall meeting at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. The event was occasion enough to get Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to wear a suit and tie. The first question came from Zuckerberg himself. He asked the president about his thoughts on balancing the budget.

“In the short term, Democrats and Republicans now agree we’ve got to reduce the debt by about $4 trillion over the next 10 years. And I know that sounds like a lot of money—it is.  But it’s doable if we do it in a balanced way,” Obama said. “What I proposed was that about $2 trillion over 10 to 12 years is reduction in spending.”

As the town hall meeting proceeded, Obama took questions from people watching Facebook live about the housing crisis, a Facebook employee about job recovery, and several others. Leo Abraham from San Jose, Calif. asked the question whether Obama felt the 2012 budget plan proposed by Paul Ryan, which was praised as bold, demonstrated sufficient boldness.

“The Republican budget that was put forward I would say is fairly radical.  I wouldn’t call it particularly courageous,” Obama said. “I do think Mr. Ryan is sincere. I think he’s a patriot. I think he wants to solve a real problem, which is our long-term deficit. But I think that what he and the other Republicans in the House of Representatives also want to do is change our social compact in a pretty fundamental way.”

Obama called Ryan’s proposal short-sighted because in order to make his numbers work, cut 70 percent out of our clean energy budget, cut 25 percent out of our education budget, cut transportation budgets by a third.

James Mitchell from Cuptertino, Calif. asked about the debt and healthcare. He wanted Obama to talk more about what provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act are designed to slow down the rise of health care costs, and what policies he’d like to see enacted in the future to continue to slow down the rise of health care costs.

Obama explained that he wants to start changing how health care players are reimbursed. He said, “We want to be able to say to a hospital, if you do a really good job reducing infection rates in the hospital, which kill tens of thousands of people across America every year and are a huge cause for readmission rates, and we know that hospitals can drastically reduce those reinfection rates just by simple protocols of how employees are washing their hands and how they’re moving from room to room and so forth—there are hospitals who have done it—if we can say to a hospital, you’ll get a bonus for that, Medicare will reimburse you for instituting these simple procedures, that saves the whole system money.”

At the conclusion of the Facebook Townhall meeting, Zuckerberg presented Obama with a hoodie—the hallmark of his wardrobe. Obama replied, “This is a high-fashion statement right here. This is beautiful.”

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