Author Archive: Shane Vander Hart
Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts. Shane has been involved in youth ministry since 1992 in church, para-church, and Christian school settings, and currently works with juvenile offenders in the Des Moines Metro area. He has also been an interim pastor for a local Evangelical Free Church and provides pulpit supply for area churches. Shane also serves as the Communications Director for American Principles Project with their Preserve Innocence Initiative. Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids. Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA. You can connect with Shane on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
Obama’s Support for Same Sex Marriage Should Come as No Surprise
The White House today touted President Barack Obama’s revelation in an interview with ABC News. President Obama announced, "I think same sex couples should be able to get married." He went on to say… I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and [...]
North Carolina Becomes the 31st State to Pass a Marriage Amendment
When the people have the chance to vote on marriage, they have voted in favor of preserving traditional marriage every time. An overwhelming majority, 61% to 39% voted in favor of amending the North Carolina Constitution to make marriage between a man and a woman as the “only domestic legal union that shall be valid [...]
Federal Prisoner Nabs 35% of Early Vote Against Obama in West Virginia Primary
You won’t see that headline anyway in the mainstream media, but President Barack Obama’s primary opponent in West Virginia, Keith Judd, has won 35% of the early vote in that state’s Democrat primary. Who is Keith Judd? He’s currently sitting in prison in Texas. He’s also made the Idaho ballot and has grabbed a larger [...]
The Iowa Department of Public Defense Continues to Stonewall
I wanted to provide a follow-up on the story I wrote last week about the Iowa Department of Public Defense ignoring Iowa’s Open Records Laws. My friend Darwin had applied to be an installation security officer at Camp Dodge. Darwin is a seven year veteran of the United States Army, he is a disabled Iraq [...]
The Iowa Department of Education Wants to Hear From You
Well sort of… the Iowa Department of Education desires your feedback provided that you are a teacher, administrator or some other school employee. Apparently a parent (or even a student) is not considered a “customer.” They do list an “other” option for the first question that asks “please choose the option that best describes your [...]
Santorum Endorses Romney
In a late night email to supporters Rick Santorum said that he had decided to back Mitt Romney for President. Here is the full text of his email: Thank you again for all you did as one of my strongest and committed supporters. Your belief in our campaign helped us start a movement of Americans [...]
Catholic Georgetown University Invites Kathleen Sebelius to Speak
Vox Populi, the staff blog of the Georgetown Voice announced those who will be speaking at Georgetown University’s commencement exercises. Way down in the list you see… “Former governor of Kansas and current secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, will be addressing the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.” It raises your [...]
Why is the Iowa Department of Public Defense Ignoring Iowa’s Open Records Law?
Darwin is an unemployed veteran of the Iraq War. He applied on February 27th to be an Installation Security Officer at Camp Dodge through the Iowa Department of Public Defense. Being a veteran he qualified for Veteran’s points under Iowa Code Sections 35C.1 and 19 A.9. Under these sections either five or ten points are [...]
Branstad’s Education Bill: Dead or Mostly Dead?
Jason Noble of The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa Governor Terry Branstad suggested that Iowa Senate Democrats among others could face political fallout because of their opposition to elements of his K-12 education reform bill. I highly doubt it. Branstad was brought into office mainly because of former Governor Chet Culver’s inability to govern, [...]
Gingrich Bows Out, Santorum to Meet Romney
Newt Gingrich in a video sent to supporters said that he would be officially suspending his campaign on Wednesday. Different sources within the campaign state that it is expected to endorse Romney. Last week in a speech in North Carolina he conceded that Romney is the nominee. Gingrich said, “It’s clear Romney is the nominee [...]
