Planned Parenthood’s annual report for fiscal 2008-09 shows that the nation’s premier abortion provider received a banner $363.2 million in government funding through grants and contracts over its latest reporting period, a $13.6 million increase over the group’s federal take in fiscal 2007-08.
Though the majority of Americans have never heard of him, one hundred years ago a key figure in Islamic socialism was born in Damascus — most scholars believe a few days after Christmas. His name is Michael Aflaq (photo at left). Born of Orthodox Christian parents, Aflaq received a proper middle class education in Syria before studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. What did he study? That strange hybrid pseudo-science so common then as today — “political economy,” the salient parts of which were socialism and Arab nationalism.
The University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC) confirmed that it is giving up its plans to create a clinic in Madison that would provide late-term abortions. In early 2009 the board of UWHC had approved a plan to build a facility that would provide abortions to women in their second trimester of pregnancy (19 to 22 weeks), with projections for around 125 abortions annually.
Never before or since has the mere birth of a helpless, powerless baby been so enmeshed in a network of fear and loathing, hope and happiness of a kingdom, an empire, a world. From Matthew’s Gospel, we learn of kings, or wise men, who came to Jerusalem inquiring about the newborn King of the Jews. “For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) King Herod was not pleased, but was greatly troubled by the threat of competition. From Luke we learn that a tax imposed by Caesar was the cause of the pilgrimage to Bethlehem that fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the city of David.