LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Brandon Davies is not just here in spirit for No. 8 BYU. He's here in person. 

The sophomore center who was suspended for violating the school's honor code by reportedly having sex with his girlfriend accompanied his teammates to the Mountain West Conference tournament.

"He's as big a part of this team as anyone on this team," senior guard Jackson Emery said Wednesday after a workout that was witnessed by Davies. "He screwed up. We've all screwed up in our individual ways. But it's good to have him here. He's helped us get to this part of the year and it's a big confidence boost to know that he's on the bench supporting us and not somewhere else."

Cougars coach Dave Rose said bringing Davies along was the right thing to do. ( BYU brings suspended Davies to league tournament)

"I just think it's important for his teammates," Rose said. "There's not a message. This is about our team. We decided to bring him because we thought it would be good for both of us."

"He's a continuing student right now," Rose said when asked what Davies' role was.

Rose said he's not decided, however, whether Davies would accompany the Cougars in the NCAA tournament.

"Yet to be determined," Rose said.

After his suspension, Davies didn't attend the Cougars' next game, a loss to New Mexico. But he was on the end of the bench in street clothes when the Cougars beat Wyoming to clinch a share of the conference crown and earn the top seed in this, their final MWC tournament before bolting to the West Coast Conference.

"It's great. He's been with us all year and even if he is not playing his presence is still there," junior Charles Abouo said. "He's a teammate, he's one of my best friends. Having him there against Wyoming, it was good to see him on the bench. We had all the familiar faces and it felt like our team was complete even if he wasn't on the court."

Jimmer Fredette, the nation's leading scorer, said it's comforting having Davies around "just because he's like a brother to us."

(Billy's Thoughts>>>> I have a lot of problems with the doctrine of the church which runs BYU but I have to admit this was a good move to bring this young  man to the tournament. It is also nice to see a school which expects young people to behave. At the same time this young man might need to be shown God's grace after one does wrong.)

Donald Trump has what every presidential wannabe craves: very deep pockets, universal name recognition and a ready-made campaign slogan. Imagine Trump telling President Obama, "You're Fired!" (Trump Plays Media With 'Faux' Presidential Campaign...

 )

In recent weeks the brash businessman has made all the moves of someone mulling a White House run, from granting interviews to the political press to giving a red-meat speech in Washington. On Monday, Trump even dispatched an aide to huddle with the state Republican chairman in the presidential proving ground of Iowa.

So, will the leader of the Trump Empire really try to become the leader of the Free World?

"He's one of the great hucksters, and I say that admiringly. He's using this idea of running, milking it, for all it's worth -- and it's worth a lot," said former New York City mayor Ed Koch. 

(Billy's Thoughts>>>> I don't know  if  Trump is going to run for President or not but one thing I do know he is not part of the right when it comes to politics.)

Donald Trump has what every presidential wannabe craves: very deep pockets, universal name recognition and a ready-made campaign slogan. Imagine Trump telling President Obama, "You're Fired!" (Trump Plays Media With 'Faux' Presidential Campaign...

 )

In recent weeks the brash businessman has made all the moves of someone mulling a White House run, from granting interviews to the political press to giving a red-meat speech in Washington. On Monday, Trump even dispatched an aide to huddle with the state Republican chairman in the presidential proving ground of Iowa.

So, will the leader of the Trump Empire really try to become the leader of the Free World?

"He's one of the great hucksters, and I say that admiringly. He's using this idea of running, milking it, for all it's worth -- and it's worth a lot," said former New York City mayor Ed Koch. 

(Billy's Thoughts>>>> I don't know  if  Trump is going to run for President or not but one thing I do know he is not part of the right when it comes to politics.)

A former prostitute says she's thankful to God for preserving and rescuing her from a job that she calls the most dangerous job in the world.

 

 

Annie Lobert grew up in a traditional household, with parents who went to church each week, but despite her upbringing, Lobert says she wanted to rebel. After graduating high school, Lobert got into the club scene with a fake ID and was lured into prostitution by a friend.
 

 
Lobert's years as an escort in Las Vegas were anything but glamorous. She was raped, strangled, kidnapped, suffocated, beaten, and thrown in the trunk of her own car.  Eventually, Lobert was rescued from the industry by a client, and both worked together in a car business that failed. After losing everything again, Lobert headed back into drugs and prostitution which almost killed her -- she overdosed on drugs twice and had a heart attack.
 
"When I reached out for Jesus, it's like I had prayed to God that entire time I was in the business asking him to help me get out of it when I was in it," she says. "So I started to reach out for Jesus and he came in and healed my heart, and really felt that I had to reach out to my girlfriends who were still trapped in the sex-trafficking industry." 

( Former prostitute finds faith, now rescues others)

 

A research and educational institute has found young evangelicals are moving to the left politically -- many of their convictions are supporting more liberal public policies. A number of books and reports find evangelicals under the age of 30 have a strong desire to help the poor, and are concerned about the environment as well as other social justice issues. ( Young evangelicals -- pro-socialism? )

 

 

Ryan Messmore of The Heritage Foundation tells OneNewsNow, "What we found is that a lot of young evangelicals have a good passion about caring for people in need and we want to say 'Amen' to that passion. The problem is that that passion is often directed in bad policy initiatives and approaches."
 
Messmore says many young evangelicals interpret God's call to help those in need as providing more government assistance and redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor.

(Billy's Thoughts>>>> We need to help those in need but helping doesn't mean creating another government program.)

Kirsten Powers worked in the Clinton White House  for 5 years and has gone on to write for the New York Post and many other mainstream newspapers and magazines. You might have  seen her on television from time to time as well. She also writes a regular column for The Daily Beast which is where this eye-opening article appeared. In it Powers argues that because of Planned Parenthood's inefficiency and blatant dishonesty, they shouldn't be receiving any tax money. Pretty shocking isn't it but it is also a blessing that even somebody from the left sees the evil this group is doing to women, children, and the whole nation. 

The state of Texas may cut chaplains. Guess what this may shock some of you but I am not upset over this. I don't believe funding of religious workers should come from the government but  from private Christian ministries and churches. Lets not forget all religious workers don't know the Lord Jesus. Perhaps if the state of Texas cuts these religious workers they will be replaced by those who do know the Lord. 

Tom Hamilton prayed for the best but expected the worst. He and his family, all devoted Christians, thought they had lost their bid to keep an overt reference to the Bible in the upcoming film "Soul Surfer."

The movie is the true story of Hamilton's daughter Bethany, who, at age 13, had her arm chewed off by a tiger shark in Kauai but returned to her board to pursue her dream of becoming a pro surfer. ( "Producer tried to edit Bible out of feel-good film," )

When religious leaders were shown an early version of the Sony movie, set for release on April 8, the words "Holy Bible" had been digitally removed from the cover of the book in a scene depicting Hamilton reading in a hospital where his daughter was fighting for her life. Hamilton says producer David Zelon, an executive at Mandalay Pictures, had lobbied to tone down the film's Christianity in an effort to broaden its appeal to non-Christian audiences. But the Hamilton family objected, and when they attended a subsequent screening, they were pleasantly surprised with what they saw.

(Billy's Thoughts>>> This is great  news. It is a blessing  that those who were trying to keep God out of a film gave in and kept Him in it. ) 

I know blogging has been light this week. The reason for that is we have had out of town company at our house my brother and a friend of his. I hope to get back to normal blogging next week. 

A conservative black pastor is calling for the church and church leadership to rise up and fight against the Obama administration's decision to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court.

 

 

Two federal courts have ruled DOMA unconstitutional. That means the ruling will stand in those circuit districts if no one steps up to the plate to defend that law -- and with Barack Obama's decision last week, that means the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder have backed away from the plate. (Pastor: Obama's actions 'delusional' and tyrannical)

 
The move by the White House prompted the leader of a coalition of 34,000 black churches to state that the president "has violated the Christian faith" by failing to uphold Jesus' teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman. Rev. Anthony Evans, head of the National Black Church Initiative, also stated black churches must "reassess their extraordinary support" for Obama.