Planned Parenthood

What follows is not a long post, but just long enough to give you something to meditate on and pray about. 

Planned Parenthood, the premier abortion provider in the United States, proudly stated in their 2021-2022 Annual Report that they performed 374,155 abortions, or more accurately, they had slaughtered 374,155 innocent baby girls and boys. 

Planned Parenthood has about a 40% share of the abortion "market" which makes them the definite leader in this gruesome business. Interestingly, despite the lockdowns resulting from COVID, they were able to achieve the second highest annual total in their history.

Yes, indeed, for Planned Parenthood abortion is obviously a very profitable business. Their revenue for the year was over $1.9 billion, and 35% of that income (over $670 million) came from you and me, the taxpayers of the United States, all cleverly described as "Government Health Services Reimbursements and Grants."

Their 40-page annual report is entitled Relentless, to sum up their attitude in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision that the Constitution includes no right to abortion. The report is quite slick, with lots of graphics, charts, and photographs. Surprisingly, though, despite the organization's supposed focus on parenthood, I found no photos of children, none whatsoever. I suppose that, in itself, tells us a lot about Planned Parenthood.

Like Planned Parenthood, the political left is always talking about how much they care for the children; but when it comes right down to it, all their policies focus on belittling the importance of children or lead to their utter destruction. 

Pray for the conversion of our nation, for the conversion of our national and state leadership in all three branches of government, for the conversion of those who work at and support Planned Parenthood. And pray especially for all those confused and misled moms and dads who believe abortion is the answer to their problems. It's never the answer to problems. In fact, it's always just the beginning of their problems.

St. Margaret of Castello, pray for us.

“Catholic” Universities

Every so often I come across news stories about some aspect of the Church, stories that too often lead to scandal. And if they scandalize me, a deacon of the Church, I can only imagine their effect on others, regardless of their religious affiliation. This past week presented me with a pair of these offensive stories, each centered on a university that defines itself as Catholic.

Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles provides us with our first story. It seems this Catholic, Jesuit university permitted a student group to hold an on-campus fundraiser for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. In fact, in 2020 Planned Parenthood performed more than 354,000 abortions — that is, they murdered that many innocent unborn babies — a total representing nearly 40% of all abortions in the U.S. last year. Yes, indeed, Planned Parenthood seems to enjoy profiting off the killing of babies.

The student group sponsoring the fundraiser call themselves Women in Politics and obviously support abortion. A group of alumni and students petitioned the university, urging it to cancel the event, calling it “an egregious violation of LMU’s Jesuit, Catholic identity.” The petition went on to state that “As a Catholic university, LMU has a responsibility to stand up for Catholic values.” Samantha Stephenson, an alumna involved in preparing the petition, said Women in Politics should support charities that “more effectively support women’s dignity…not at odds with the Catholic Church.” Stephenson also quoted Pope Francis, a Jesuit, who recently stated:

“Is it right to eliminate, to take a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a hitman to solve a problem? That’s what abortion is.”

Thank you, Pope Francis, for showing us that Planned Parenthood and their ilk are nothing more than a collection of hitmen whose victims are the most innocent among us.

In response, a statement from the university’s administration argued that the fundraiser, although held on campus, was not a “university-sponsored event,” and went on to state that “The events, actions, or positions of student organizations, including Women in Politics, are not endorsed by the university.” The university’s statement also informed the world that it remains fully committed to its “Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount heritage, values, and intellectual traditions.” Its demonstration of this commitment is apparently carried out in secrecy because it’s certainly not done publicly. Oh, yes, the school’s statement continued by declaring the activities of its student groups as “living examples that LMU embraces its mission, commitments, and the complexities of free and honest discourse.” 

To read more about this travesty, click here: Loyola Marymount University and Planned Parenthood.

I think we can dismiss the idea that Loyola Marymount University remains a Catholic university. It has instead caved to the reigning zeitgeist, a culture of death supported by far too many Catholics on the political left, including more than few Jesuits. As a result, this Catholic university is actively supporting the nation’s largest abortion provider. One recalls Jesus words…

“He said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin” [Lk 17:1-2].

And that’s just for those who cause little ones to sin. What about those who murder the most innocent little ones among us?

St. Louis University is a Catholic university that is also — surprise, surprise! — a Jesuit university. The school’s Students for Life chapter made a pro-life, cross-shaped, flag memorial on the campus of this Catholic university. Although the memorial was approved by the university, some students apparently did not agree. As always today, there are videos. They’re rather disturbing, so I won’t include the videos here, but if you like you can watch them on other sites. 

The students who objected to the memorial decided they had to destroy it. Two young women, identified by the media as Fiorella Michelis and Olivia Jarrell, began to kick the flags, pull them up out of the ground, and stomp on the memorial. They also confronted Nick Baker, a Students for Life member who objected to their actions. 

When Baker told them the Students for Life had created the memorial, one responded with, “So, you just love disrespecting women.” The other added, “Yeah, a man who has absolutely no right telling women what to do with their bodies or trying to shame them or trying to make them feel guilty about their decisions that they have absolutely all the right to do.” 

They objected also to the effects of the memorial on those women who have had abortions: “If a woman was walking by who had an abortion, how do you think she would feel about this?” 

A male student replied saying, “I’m sure she wouldn’t feel great, but that’s why we need to reach out to them and help them.”

The two women students also demonstrated that their remarkable vocabularies matched their destructive actions and the ideology behind them. One of the students approached Baker and said, “People hate you. You’re a disgusting misogynist, and you know karma is going to f*****g get you. You’ll see that when you die and hopefully you f*****g go to hell.” She then added, “You can see my pictures, you can see how pretty I am, how good a life I have. And what do you have? You’re a f*****g loser, and you think you can tell other people what to do with their f*****g bodies.”

When Baker told her that most Students for Life members were women, she replied with a remarkable non-sequitur, “You just really enjoy your life, ‘cause I’ll enjoy mine. And I’ll f*****g keep killing babies.”

“…keep killing babies.” I don’t know about you, but all I hear here is Satan speaking through these young women. How very sad. 

Several other students tried to destroy the memorial but left when confronted by Students of Life members. 

The university issued a statement: It is conducting an investigation, and it “takes seriously any alleged violation of our Community Standards, and has policies and processes in place to address concerns when they are reported.” Hmm…after reading that little piece of administrative cover, I suspect nothing will happen.

Unsought Thoughts

Yesterday and today I have two rare days off. My calendar is completely empty. There is nothing that demands my presence -- no meetings, no parish demands, no social events, no projects that can't wait, even the items on Dear Diane's honey-do list can be deferred until tomorrow. It's a wonderful feeling, and one I had hoped to experience more frequently during this so-called retirement of mine.

Of course I bring it all on myself because I seem incapable of saying "No" when asked to do something. I'm not bragging and trying to paint myself in some saintly light, because, believe me, this inability is far more fault than virtue. If I allotted my time and effort more carefully I would do a much better job on the truly important tasks, and would also have more time to devote to the personal relationships that matter, especially my relationship with my spouse of 48 years. And so I have vowed to set some limits in the hope that good things will result. We'll see.

My clear calendar has also given me some time to think. The busyness of my life has made thinking an increasingly rare luxury, and so usually I just plod along doing things and thinking only about practical matters, about the hows of those things I must do. Now, I'm no great thinker, and certainly no philosopher, but the journey of life demands thought or it will ultimately be a journey to nowhere.

Josef Pieper

Indeed this little thought calls to mind that wonderful book, Leisure, the Basis of Culture, by a true philosopher, Josef Pieper (1904-1997). In it Pieper instructs us on the critical role leisure plays in the very act of being human. Too many of us today seem to think that just because we're busy, we're also being creative and productive. And yet, so much of what we do, the daily busyness of our lives, is just about making a living. Or it's directed toward ideological ends such as materialism. This modern obsession with keeping busy prevents us from focusing on that which is truly and eternally important. To do this we need leisure. If you disagree, read Pieper's book and then rethink your life and the busyness that fills so much of it.

Another thought that struck me this morning originated from an interview I watched on some local TV station late last night. The person being interviewed, a writer and self-proclaimed atheist, stated that he was turned off by all religions because most believers seemed to ignore what their religions taught. I'll paraphrase his comment: Their actions show me they really don't believe what they preach, so why should I? Anyhow, most religious people seem very grim. He especially noted Christians as the most hypocritical. The interviewer nodded knowingly and moved on to another topic.

I found myself agreeing with the atheist's premise, at least as it relates to Christianity, but coming to exactly the opposite conclusion. The fact that most Christians are abject failures when it comes to following the teachings of Jesus Christ -- i.e., we are all sinners -- actually confirms rather than denies that which we profess to believe. If we were perfect we wouldn't need a Savior. If our first parents hadn't fallen in Eden we wouldn't have to cope with original sin or need to be redeemed by God Himself. It's the very fact of our sinfulness and our continued struggle to live the Gospel that convinces me of the truth of Christianity. 

Pope Francis Sharing the Good News

As for all those grim Christians out there, I'll concede the atheist's point. Often enough, as I stand at the ambo and proclaim the Gospel at Mass, I can't help but notice that most of the faces in the congregation don't look very happy. Sometimes I want to scream, "Hey, Christians! This is the Good News you're hearing, not the bad news. You've been redeemed by Jesus Christ. God loves you as no one else has or ever will. Put a smile on your face and show God how thankful you are."

Other unbidden thoughts popped into my aging brain when I assisted at the funeral of a friend's mother on Saturday. Her name was Ruth Stafford and she died just six days after her 100th birthday! Fr. John, the homilist, mentioned how much she had witnessed during a long life that began in 1916. Yes, although the world has changed much since then, human nature has remained the same. But in addition to Ruth's birthday, we mark some interesting anniversaries in 2016 and 2017.

Flanders Field

Next year, for example, is the 100th anniversary of our nation's entry into the World War I, a war which began in August 1914 and brought devastation to Europe for four deadly years. Ironically, this "war to end all wars" did exactly the opposite. Not only did it set the stage for the even greater devastation of World War II, but it also brought us the horrors of Hitler's Nazism and Stalin's Communism, deadly ideologies that were forced onto the people of dozens of nations.

The Blessed Mother Appears at Fatima

In the midst of that war, during the spring and summer of 1916, near Fatima in Portugal, three young children were visited by an angelic being. His mission was to prepare them for something far greater the following year. And on May 13, 1917 the children saw a woman, "brighter than the sun," who told them to pray the Rosary daily. This, she promised, would bring peace to the world and an end to the war. The apparitions of Mary, which continued monthly for six months, have been repeatedly confirmed by the Church as supernatural in origin. Along with a series of predictions and warnings, the Blessed Mother told the world that the only effective antidote to sin is prayer and repentance.

Satan, of course, takes no days off and one can only assume that, even as he relished the desolation of World War I, he perceived the message of Fatima as a threat. Yes, indeed, Satan was very busy back in 1916.

On October 16 of this year Planned Parenthood celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. Margaret Sanger, who founded this organization devoted to death, opened its first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, NY in 1916. Sanger, who believed that certain people should not procreate, focused her attention on those races she believed to be unfit for life. Most Americans, and certainly most minorities, don't realize this, but Planned Parenthood really hasn't changed. The vast majority of its clinics are located in the nation's inner cities where they can more easily "serve" minority clients. Under the Obama administration, Planned Parenthood has received over $1.5 billion of federal funds in just the past three years and performed over one million abortions during this same period. This will only increase if Hillary Clinton is elected.

It is no coincidence that God sent the Blessed Mother to remind the world that sin has its consequences. Will the world listen?

A Younger Professor Ratzinger

All these thoughts about the past caused me to think about the future and what it holds for the world and for the Church. This brought to mind something Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) wrote back in 1969, long before he was pope, or even a bishop. It's a quote from a book entitled, Faith and the Future. The book's five chapters were actually first delivered as radio addresses during 1969 and 1970. In the last chapter, Fr. Ratzinger, then a 42-year-old theolgian, offers his vision of what the Church will be like as it encounters the changing world in the years to come. The quote is quite long, but well worth reading.

"What will remain is the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church that believes in the God who has become man and promises us life beyond death...

"From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge -- a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so will she lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, she will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, she will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly, she will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion. Alongside this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly. But in all of the changes at which one might guess. the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world. In faith and prayer she will again recognize her true center and experience the sacraments again as the worship of God and not as a subject for liturgical scholarship.

"The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek. The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed. One may predict that all of this will take time. The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism of the eve of the French Revolution -- when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain -- to the renewal of the nineteenth century. But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret."

And so my generation has its work cut out for it: to prepare our children and our grandchildren for what is to come. The Church will face some serious hard times, but it will remain the only beacon of hope in a hostile world. I suppose the question for all of us is, are we ready to do what God expects of us? But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? [Lk 18:8]


Enough thinking. As I typed the above words, my PC crashed and confronted me with that deadly blue screen. I have tried every remedy I can think of, along with all those recommended by HP and Microsoft, but the problem persists.The desktop PC has therefore been removed from the desk and been replaced by my handy laptop. We'll see what data has disappeared, but I trust my precautions have prevented serious loss.

God's peace.

Eight Unconnected Thoughts

Diane and me at GU (Statue: Bishop John Carroll)

Hoya Hypocrisy. Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in the United States, has invited Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, to speak as a part of the university's Lecture Fund. Not only does Ms. Richards run the largest abortion provider in the nation, she also recently bragged about aborting her fourth child because three children were enough. In response to criticism, the Jesuit-run university claimed that Georgetown “deeply values our faith tradition that encourages the free exchange of ideas." I'm embarrassed to admit that before I entered the Naval Academy back in the early 60s, I attended Georgetown for a year. It was a very different institution back then. And I suspect GU's founder, Bishop John Carroll (1735-1815), would not be pleased with the changes.

Tough Guy. Some months ago Donald Trump publicly denigrated John McCain, a highly decorated Navy pilot and POW, as a bogus war hero because he was shot down, captured, and tortured by the North Vietnamese. This from a man who spent the Vietnam War dodging the draft. He talks real tough -- "I'll bomb the s--- out of ISIS" -- but doesn't have a clue about what that really means to those who must do the bombing. I expect the young Trump was motivated by the same thing that motivated most of the draft-dodgers I met during the Vietnam era. After a few beers they would let down their guard, drop the political excuses, and admit they just didn't like the idea of getting shot at. News flash: Who does? But when you do everything you can to avoid serving...well, we used to call that cowardice.

Just Wages. In his general audience Pope Francis stated that the Church doesn't want donations from the affluent if they exploit or underpay their workers. And while I completely agree with the Pope, I think he should direct some of his attention internally. Every survey I've seen indicates that the Catholic Church pays its lay employees somewhere between 15-30 percent less than those in equivalent jobs in Protestant churches and even less than those doing similar work in the private sector. In many instances the Church does not pay what could reasonably be considered a just or living wage, and retirement benefits are often non-existent or minuscule. Perhaps we should clean our own house first as an example to others. Too many Catholics simply do not support the Church and its mission, and too many bishops seem afraid to demand that they do so. Here's an article on the subject: Just Wage. 

Historical Myths. I've been a part-time student of the history of Islam for years and have always been puzzled by those historians who claim that Islamic Spain was a multicultural paradise in which Christians and Jews were treated with respect and dignity by their Muslim rulers. This is especially puzzling since virtually all of the contemporary evidence contradicts this belief. If you would like to learn the truth about Islamic Spain, you can find it in this wonderful, well-documented history by Darío Fernández-Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise. It's a page-turner. Read it. 

The Beheading of St. Eulogius of Cordoba in Muslim Spain

Catholic England. Another book of revisionist history has been around awhile. First published in 1992 and republished in a second edition in 2005, The Stripping of the Altars, by Cambridge professor Eamon Duffy, tells the story of the late medieval Catholic Church in England. It covers the period immediately before and during the early years of the Reformation, from 1400 to 1580. I've been meaning to read the book for years but just never got around to it. And then the other day I spotted a copy on our parish's free book shelf and grabbed it. It's a lengthy tome (over 600 pages of fairly small print) but filled with remarkable insights. 

Pistol-packin' Deacon. A few days ago my son, a former Marine, and I stopped by a local gun shop here in Florida where I picked up the forms needed to apply for a Florida concealed carry permit. When I mentioned this to one of my brother deacons he was apoplectic: "You're an ordained deacon, how can you carry a weapon?  It's not something Christians do." When I asked if Christians had a right to defend themselves and their families, he seemed to think it was alright but not if they used guns. I refrained from asking if I could use an ax. When I mentioned that as a Christian I always carried a sidearm when I flew as a Navy pilot, he mumbled something about wartime being different . As they say in New York, "Go figure!" Actually I just enjoy shooting and a permit will let me carry a pistol or revolver to a range without a lot of hassle.

God Exists. I keep encountering new, at least to me, revelations of God's presence in His creation. One day last week, in the late afternoon, while Maddie (our dog) and I were strolling through the neighborhood, I noticed the flicker of a fast-moving shadow on the nearby grass. Looking up I encountered a  marvelous sight: 42 white pelicans (I counted them) flying in two equally balanced V formations. The setting sun cast an amber glow that turned their wings to gold. They were perhaps 200 feet overhead and, despite their numbers, flew by us in complete silence. It was another of those beautiful, unrepeatable experiences that force you to accept the truth: the world is no accident. "And God saw that it was good."

Critical Vote. While the November elections in the United States could well determine the direction our nation will take for years to come, they are not the only 2016 elections with long-term worldwide ramifications. On June 23 the British people will vote in a referendum on Britain"s continued membership in the European Union (EU). Cleverly called "Brexit" (British Exit), the referendum has been scheduled as early as possible by Tory Prime Minister Cameron in the hope that the EU's growing troubles won't escalate much before June. Interestingly, although Cameron strongly favors continued  EU membership, many in his cabinet and as many as 150 Conservative MPs favor Brexit. Daniel Hannan, an elected Member of the European Parliament, explains here why Britain should vote to leave the EU and put him out of a job.

Brit Hume: The Abortion Industry

On Monday of this week Brit Hume, Senior Political Analyst for Fox News, accurately described the abortion industry and our nation's pathetic response to this decades-long genocide.




Pray for our country.

Corporate Panic on Planned Parenthood

Yesterday's Daily Signal story on corporate supporters of Planned Parenthood apparently struck a nerve. A number of these corporations are backing away from their previous support and have demanded that Planned Parenthood remove their names from its list of corporate sponsors. Here's a link to the Daily Signal's follow-up story: Planned Parenthood Pulls Names of Corporations.

The Daily Signal went on to ask each of the corporations involved to address their support for Planned Parenthood. Their responses, at least those who dared to respond, are wonderful examples of public relations spin: We don't contribute to PP. It's our silly employees who do that. We simply match those gifts because we're an enlightened company. 

Read their responses here: Corporate Responses on Planned Parenthood Donations

Companies Supporting Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood murders more unborn babies in the U.S. than any other "abortion provider". They receive hundreds of millions from the federal government, but they are also recipients of financial support from dozens of U.S. corporations and major non-profits. Indeed, these donations represent 25% of the organization's $1.3 billion annual budget. 

The following is a list of 39 companies that directly fund Planned Parenthood. For details, follow this link: Companies that donate to Planned Parenthood. 

I was surprised to discover that I use far too many of the products and services provided by these corporations. I will have to do something about this.

1. Adobe
2. American Cancer Society
3. American Express
4. AT&T
5. Avon
6. Bank of America
7. Bath & Body Works
8. Ben & Jerry’s
9. Clorox
10. Coca-Cola
11. Converse
12. Deutsche Bank
13. Dockers
14. Energizer
15. Expedia
16. ExxonMobil
17. Fannie Mae
18. Groupon
19. Intuit
20. Johnson & Johnson
21. La Senza
22. Levi Strauss
23. Liberty Mutual
24. Macy’s
25. March of Dimes
26. Microsoft
27. Morgan Stanley
28. Nike
29. Oracle
30. PepsiCo
31. Pfizer
32. Progressive
33. Starbucks
34. Susan G. Komen
35. Tostitos
36. Unilever
37. United Way
38. Verizon
39. Wells Fargo

Monday Morning Thoughts

Putin and his foes. The ongoing drama playing out among the world's political leaders has enrolled even the least astute of observers in a graduate course in non-leadership. On one side we have President Obama, alleged leader of the world's most powerful and successful nation. He is loosely joined by a feckless collection of Western European politicians whom we are assured the President is leading from behind. Opposed to this worthy coalition is one Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin, the President of Russia.

Putin has branded himself as a kind of superman, the Russian he-man, a blended reincarnation of Stalin and Ivan the Terrible with a feminine side inherited from Catherine the Great. He projects the image of the savior intent on returning the expansive nation to its former greatness. In this, however, he has given his countrymen a false hope, since the nation they envision had never really been able to achieve true greatness, but for centuries always teetered on the edge of collapse. And collapse it did, several times during just the last century.

But this doesn't mean Putin and the new Russia are no threat. While our nation adopts foolish policies that undermine our relationships with our most reliable allies and appease those who would destroy us, Putin courts emerging superpower Communist China and strengthens Russian ties with Iran, the world's leading sponsor of terror. While the West stumbles along in its hapless efforts to convince Iran to stop its ongoing development of nuclear weapons, who do you think is providing them with nuclear reactors? (Hint: his middle name is Vladimirovitch.) As the United States disengages itself from the Middle East, guess who will fill the resulting vacuum? (Hint: Who pulled the rug out from under President Obama and took charge of the "Syrian problem"?) And which maritime nation is today decimating its naval forces (Hint: it's initials are USA), while Russia and China undertake huge expansions of their blue-water navies? Guess which leader seems to have a better grasp of the intricacies of the global chessboard? (No hint necessary.)

Russian warship in the Bosporus en route to Syria

He might be an astute manipulator of power politics, but in reality Putin is little more than a clever thug, a former KGB apparatchik, who like those he once served believes power is best applied through the barrel of a gun. Economically today's Russia is a corruption-riddled basket case, and it's military, while certainly not insignificant in numbers, is also not especially well-equipped. Despite this, Putin realizes he has little to fear from our president and our erstwhile NATO allies. Like Hitler occupying the Rhineland or Austria, Putin sent his troops virtually unopposed into Crimea and then formally annexed the region. We may scold him on the world stage, wagging our finger and wringing our hands, but the fact is Crimea is once again a part of the Russian homeland. This morning I read that the Russians even set the Crimean clocks to Moscow time. For Russia the consequences of this illegal aggression have been horrendous: several of Putin's closest friends can no longer spend long weekends in Vegas or use their Visa cards, and the USA has sent vast amounts of military aid to the threatened Ukranians in the form of MREs; i.e., Meals Ready to Eat.

Russian Troops in Crimea

Will President Obama and his sometime allies actually respond in any effective way? Unlikely. Sadly this global drama is quite unlike those Tolkien-like or Reaganesque battles between good and evil that so inflame the hearts of free men. It's really more of a schoolyard confrontation in which a collection of nerds appeases the school bully by turning over their lunch money. By doing so they incorrectly assume he's been bought off and will forever leave them alone. Of course he won't. He'll be back...and next time he might bring some friends.

Nancy Pelosi Receives Award Named for a Racist. U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is a remarkable woman. The former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, she was the driving force in the enactment of Obamacare (the so-called Affordable Care Act). To this end she masterfully convinced her Democrat colleagues in the House to vote for this huge, and hugely flawed, piece of legislation even though few of them knew what was in it. How can we ever forget her forceful, convincing argument which concluded with the statement: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it..."?

Pelosi with Dr. Ruth, HHS Secretary Sebelius, and Planned Parenthood President Richards

Ms. Pelosi also claims to be a faithful Catholic although she openly rejects many of her Church's teachings. Indeed, one gets the impression that she wishes she were pope so she could bring the Church into alignment with the prevailing zeitgeist. Alas, that dream of hers will remain unfulfilled, and so she must be content with instructing the bishops to join her in virtual apostasy. Sadly for her, that effort too is doomed to failure.

Margaret Sanger

She remains, however, undeterred. Indeed, her latest claim to fame is an award she has received from Planned Parenthood, the nation's number one baby killer. And this isn't just any award. It's the Margaret Sanger Award. Now, for those who might not know it, Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) founded Planned Parenthood in 1921. She was also a racist who believed in the elimination of undesirable racial minorities, or "human weeds", as she called them. It's no accident that the vast majority of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in inner city, minority neighborhoods. This is exactly what Margaret Sanger planned. As a result, the greatest cause of death among African Americans today is abortion.

Sanger was an especially clever racist, though, and even planned to co-opt leaders of the black community to join her in her genocidal efforts. In a 1922 article she wrote:

"We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities.  The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

Sanger's efforts weren't restricted to contraception and abortion. As she once said, "The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." Nice. And trust me, she wasn't talking about a family of white Episcopalians from Connecticut.

Lloyd Marcus, author of the fascinating book, Confessions of a Black Conservative, wrote the following in an American Thinker essay: 

"Colored people are like human weeds and are to be exterminated." So said Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood. Seventy-eight percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are in black neighborhoods. Blacks make up only 12% of the population, but 35% of America’s aborted babies are black. Half of black pregnancies end in abortion. Is this an intentional genocide?

'The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb," according to Pastor Clenard Childress, Jr. Blacks are the only minority in America experiencing a declining population.

So why would Obama, the NAACP, Rev. Sharpton, and other black leftists be passionate supporters of Planned Parenthood? Why did Al Sharpton threaten to protest a pro-life billboard which exposed the devastatingly high number of black abortions?

Good questions. Why do the Democrats consistently support abortion, and even infanticide, which have led to the deaths of so many minority babies?

And I'll add a few questions of my own. Isn't it interesting that Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the House Democrats, should receive an award that honors such a woman as Sanger? Why has no one in the mainstream media asked the former speaker if her beliefs mirror those of Sanger's? For that matter, why does the Democrat Party oppose charter schools and school choice which have done so much to improve the quality of the education received by minority children? Do you think there might be a connection? Interesting questions that deserve answers.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Most of the news we're exposed to today is, quite simply, good, bad, or ugly -- too little of the first and far too much of the others. Here's a quick survey of some of the news stories I encountered this afternoon. I'll let you decide in which category to place each.
 
Planned Parenthood. According to their own report, Planned Parenthood has set several records. They not only performed a record number of abortions but also received a record amount of taxpayer funds from the federal government. This largest of American abortion mills performed 333,964 abortions in 2011. Among their clients, 92% received abortions, 7% received some form of prenatal care, and less than 1% received adoption referrals. The $542 million Planned Parenthood received in federal grants, contracts and Medicaid reimbursements represents almost half of its annual revenue.

National Religious Freedom Day. Last week President Obama proclaimed January 16 as National Religious Freedom Day. In his proclamation he stated: 

"Because of the protections guaranteed by our Constitution, each of us has the right to practice our faith openly and as we choose. As a free country, our story has been shaped by every language and enriched by every culture...As we observe Religious Freedom Day, let us remember the legacy of faith and independence we have inherited, and let us honor it by forever upholding our right to exercise our beliefs free from prejudice or persecution."

Interesting comments from a president who has taken an active role in suppressing the religious freedom of those who cannot in conscience support the HHS Mandate to pay for "health" services that involve artificial contraceptives, abortifacient drugs, and sterilization.

Nepalese Are Reading Bibles. Nepal, that strange faraway nation in the Himalayas, has been ruled for several years now by a Maoist government that is quite hostile to religion. The nation, though, is over 80% Hindu. Much of the remainder of the population is either Buddhist (about 10%), Muslim (about 5%), or practitioners of an indigenous religion, Kirat (about 4%). Christians make up less than two percent of the population. But this is changing. Since 2006 the number of Christians has tripled. The numbers are still small but they are increasing rather rapidly. Accompanying this growth is a doubling of Bible sales over the past year with many of these Bibles being purchased by non-Christians. As one Protestant minister said, "Many non-Christians have found a real source of hope in the Gospel and the Bible." 

Catholic Schools Must Teach Islam??  As strange as it may sound, this one isn't hard to believe if you've been following the plight of Christians struggling to practice their faith in Islamic nations. The story relates to six Catholic schools in East Java province of Indonesia. It seems the local authorities are threatening to close the schools if they do not teach the Islamic faith and read the Qur'an to Muslim students who attend the schools. Interestingly, no Muslim student or student's family has ever objected on religious grounds to the lack of Islamic teaching in the Catholic schools. It seems to me that Muslim students who want to learn about their faith might be better served by attending a Muslim school rather than a Catholic one. 

The Arab Spring in Egypt has become a dark winter for Christians. Remember all that enthusiastic talk about the glories we could expect from the Arab Spring that was spreading throughout the Middle East and North Africa? Well, it's turning out pretty much as I thought it would. Almost two years ago, not long after Mubarak was overthrown in Egypt, I wrote in this blog that the Muslim Brotherhood would likely assume control of the country and that this would lead only to increased persecution of Egyptian Christians. (See my May 2011 post.) Now we read that the predominantly Coptic Christians village of el-Marashda in Upper Egypt has been repeatedly attacked by hundreds of Islamists who have burned down homes and businesses and tried to destroy the local Coptic church. Such reports of anti-Christian violence and open persecution are increasingly common as Islamist extremists become more emboldened in an Egypt led by a radical government. 

Here's a video highlighting some of the atrocities committed against Christians in Egypt, atrocities committed not only by radical bands of Islamists but also by government forces. You can read the accompanying article here.

The French Protest Same-Sex Marriage. And to think I used to make fun of the French and was even known to accuse them of leading the way to the creation of a modern pagan Europe. Well, the French came out in large numbers -- well over a half-million of them -- to protest their government's proposed acceptance of same-sex marriage and the adoption of children by homosexual couples. God bless them! Here's a video on the protests...

You can read a secular news report on the protests here.

Too many bads, too many uglys. Pray for our world and for our nation.

The Trial, Entertainment, Abortion

I like to think of those who read this blog as a select group, not representative of the population as a whole. And it is through this medium that I can reinforce their sense of superiority, causing them to feel even more highfalutin as they mutter, "I'm sure glad I'm not as dumb as the guy who writes this blog." Of course, as I've discovered, all kinds of people stop by and read the occasional post and many, based on their comments to me, will likely find this particular post insulting. But that's okay. If they drop any nasty comments on me, I'll just follow my usual protocol and delete them.

You see, I can keep quiet no longer. What's got me all riled up is the never-ending media show called the Casey Anthony murder trial, a show taking place in nearby Orlando, Florida. 

Let me begin by saying I have not watched even a single minute of the trial and so I have absolutely no opinion regarding this woman's guilt or innocence. Of course I'm not a very big TV viewer to begin with and, outside of college football season, about all I watch are a few news shows, Mystery and Antiques Roadshow on PBS, and some of the military and "historical" documentaries that air on that collection of look-alike cable networks. I also secretly watch American Pickers but thanks to the DVR I can keep this embarrassing fact from dear Diane.

The idea of gluing myself to the TV screen and spending my days, this precious gift of time, watching some trial in which I have absolutely no interest...well, I simply cannot imagine doing so. But apparently millions of Americans think otherwise. Here in Florida, the Orlando stations have preempted much of their regular daytime programming so they can air the trial in full, Monday through Saturday. (And I just heard on the news, the court will be in session tomorrow, Sunday, for closing arguments.) These stations wouldn't do this unless they believed it would attract a larger audience than their usual inane daytime fare. I have no idea how much airtime the trial receives elsewhere, but down here large numbers of people have become addicted to it. I find it very disturbing that so many are completely absorbed by this exposition of the obviously gruesome and prurient facts and opinions surrounding the death of this little girl. There's something wrong here. No, there's something more than wrong here; there's something disturbingly evil about it all.

If you're one of those people, and you believe I have insulted you, don't expect an apology because you won't get one. I really don't care what you think. As one woman asked me when I expressed disinterest in the case, "Don't you care about this woman receiving justice for murdering her little girl?" My response: "If she's found guilty by the jury, she'll receive man's justice, but her true guilt or innocence will be judged later. And I don't believe you and others who watch this trial do so out of an overriding concern for justice. That's not a reason; that's an excuse. Your watching will have no effect on its outcome. You watch it for the same reason you watch soap operas or Law and Order or Wheel of Fortune...to be entertained, to be titillated." (I suspect our relationship might have suffered a bit as a result of my comments.)

The millions of trial watchers are driven by the same desire that drives the people who gather outside the courthouse early every morning, hoping to grab one of the few seats available to the public. As you might expect there have even been physical altercations as people jockey for position in line. Yes, I'm sure they're all consumed by a desire to witness justice being served.

Interestingly, many of these same folks who could relate every detail about the trial don't have a clue about what's happening in the Middle East, in Libya, in Mexico, or even in Washington, D.C., events that will ultimately have a far greater impact on their lives than this one murder trial in Florida. Like the so-called "reality" shows that now dominate almost every network's schedule, this trial is just another example of today's version of "bread and circuses" by which the people are distracted from the true reality of what's happening in our nation and our world.

But even more worrisome, such distractions lead people away from the Way, the Truth and the Life. We have so little time on this earth as we struggle along the path to salvation we must be careful about how we spend it. I'm certainly aware that life is not all struggle and hardship and that there are many worthwhile and enjoyable things on which we can devote our increasingly rare leisure time. But why would any believing Christian waste so much of that time being titillated by the trial of a young mother accused of murdering her little girl? This is not something that should monopolize our attention. 

Like everyone, I am saddened by this child's senseless death, but let's put it into perspective. I am far more saddened by the 50 million American babies who have been slaughtered by abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. If you are truly concerned about justice, why don't you do something about that?

As long as I'm on this subject, let me express my amazement at some of the attitudes I encounter whenever I express my pro-life beliefs. I am especially amazed that so many Jews have no problem with abortion. Given the history of abortion in the 20th century, if I were a Jew I'd be fanatically pro-life. I've included below a few paragraphs on the anti-Semitic origins of abortion in pre-war Germany. The following is excerpted from a paper by Professor John Hunt, PhD, delivered at the June 2001 annual meeting of the Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change:

Hence, in 1933, in their first year of power, the Nazis passed a law forbidding abortion to Germans, increasing the penalties as they had been before Weimar liberalization. The Nazis wanted to increase the birthrate so as to have soldiers for their military. In March 1934, however, the Hereditary Health Court in Hamburg rendered a judgment which stated that abortion on grounds of racial health was not an offense. In its decision, it referred to a Supreme Court decision during the Weimar democracy seven years earlier, allowing the procedure for "medical necessities." In June 1935 the sterilization law was also amended to allow abortions on eugenic grounds and these abortions had to be followed by sterilizations, dependent -- technically -- on the woman's consent. Thus, sterilization, eugenics and abortion all come together.

For the first time in German history, abortion was legal. But one cannot ignore the roots reaching back almost fifteen years to the beginning of the Weimar democracy, during which time arguments had been made that unborn life was not that important so was therefore expendable. Despite the racial theories behind this decision there were some non-Nazis who approved because of the allowing of choice. In 1938 the government announced that Jews could have abortions at any time, since this could only benefit the German people. The Jews, as well as "unfit" Germans, had a "choice" most Germans did not. This meant that the Nazis saw abortion as a very useful weapon against undesirables; e.g. as an act of elimination.

During World War II the Nazis used sterilizations and abortions (also birth control and even the promotion of homosexuality) extensively in eastern Europe to carry out their eugenics policies. The specific aim was to keep eastern females available for slave labor while at the same time weakening eastern nations by hampering the reproduction of Slavic peoples. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, a chief architect of the Holocaust, and personal friend of Adolf Hitler, once stated that the tragedy of abortion for German women was that afterwards women often could not have children. Not in the loss of an "individual life," as he put it. The Nazis used the word "parent" to describe pregnant women and the fathers of the unborn and the word "child" to describe the unborn themselves. Nazis forbade abortion in order to preserve German unborn but allowed, even encouraged, the destruction of non-German unborn.

You can read Dr. Hunt's paper here: "The Abortion and Eugenics Policies of Nazi Germany"

Hitler opposed abortion only for "pure blood" Aryan women, while he allowed and even encouraged it for others, those the Nazis considered undesirables. In an order to the SS, SD, and police on June 9, 1943, Reichskommisar Kaltenbrunner directed: "In the case of eastern female workers, pregnancy may be interrupted if desired." They first performed a kind of "racial exam" and then, "If a racially valuable result is to be expected, the abortion is to be denied . . . if not valuable, the abortion is to be granted."

Not many people realize that after the war, the War Crimes Tribunal indicted ten Nazi leaders for "encouraging and compelling abortion," which it considered a "crime against humanity." An interesting modern wrinkle on all this relates to IG Farben, the huge German manufacturer that during the war produced the poison gas, Zyklon-B, the gas used in the Nazi extermination camps. On July 29, 1948, sentences for mass murder and slavery were handed down at the Nuremberg trials to twelve Farben executives. The longest sentence, for seven years, was given to Dr. Fritz ter Meer, a top executive and scientist on the Farben managing board. After the war, IG Farben was divided up into a number of smaller companies. A French subsidiary of Hoechst AG, one of these spin-offs, is the manufacturer of the so-called "morning after" abortion pill, RU-486. So glad the family business continues to thrive. Plus ca change...  

Zyklon-B canisters at the Majdanek Nazi concentration camp near Lublin, Poland

Of course, I am equally amazed when I encounter an African-American who supports abortion. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was an unapologetic believer in eugenics and worked hard to encourage abortion, contraception and sterilization among the "unfit" races, a plan she believed would lead to the "salvation of American civilization." Several of her colleagues and fellow board members of the American Birth Control League described the eugenic practices of the Third Reich as "scientific" and "humanitarian." And Dr. Harry Laughlin, another Sanger associate and board member for her group, spoke of purifying America's human "breeding stock" and purging America's "bad strains." 

Sanger's writings, speeches and correspondence are littered with her overtly racist eugenics agenda. In a letter to a supporter, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble, of Proctor and Gamble, she discusses the tactics of securing the involvement of African American ministers in her "Negro Project"...

"The minister's work is also important and he should be trained, perhaps by the Federation as to our ideals and the goal that we hope to reach. We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

Of course the fact that Planned Parenthood "clinics" tend to be located in the inner city is just a coincidence. Yes, it's a coincidence that has led to abortion becoming the leading cause of death today among African Americans. Did you know that a black baby is many times more likely to be aborted than a white baby? Don't believe it? Check out the statistics (government statistics) provided here: National Black Catholic Congress.

In the words of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” Legality and morality are two quite different things, and the more a nation separates itself from its core religious roots, the greater the difference becomes.

As I've already said, I'm truly saddened by little Caylee Anthony's tragic death, but other things sadden me even more.

Take a moment today to thank God for the gift of your life, a life like no other...

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them! [Psalm 139:13-17]

God gives us a choice: "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live..." [Deut 30:19]

L’Chiam!