Washington Post: "Some Catholic supporters of the administration said they had noticed a shift in White House rhetoric that gave them hope a compromise could be worked out. “Publicly you can see a change in the administration,” said Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America. “It’s very different from what was said … Continue reading In shift, White House to seek to allay concerns of religious employers on birth control order

Washington Post: "The Associated Press reports that Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, will cut off its funding to Planned Parenthood affiliates, where the foundation has traditionally paid for preventive screening services."

Michael Sean Winters: "This is not science but scientism, the idea that philosophic questions of values, concern for the uniqueness of each individual and their familial and social circumstances, the ethical belief that there are things that can be done but which ought not to be done, all are swept away because some lab technician … Continue reading HHS, Plan B & Scientism

Washington Post: "The Obama administration stunned women’s health advocates and abortion opponents alike Wednesday by rejecting a request to let anyone of any age buy the controversial morning-after pill Plan B directly off drugstore and supermarket shelves. For what the Food and Drug Administration thinks is the first time, the Department of Health and Human … Continue reading Obama administration refuses to relax Plan B restrictions

Michael Sean Winters: "Democrats for Life’s efforts work in two directions. On the one hand, it tries to convince the bigwigs in the Democratic Party to be more open to pro-life concerns. A 2009 Pew Survey indicated that 31 percent of all Democrats believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and 57 … Continue reading Group brings pro-life voice to Democratic Party

NY Times: "As lawmakers scramble to trim the swelling national debt, both the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate have proposed slashing financing for the State Department and its related aid agencies at a time of desperate humanitarian crises and uncertain political developments. The proposals have raised the specter of deep cuts in food and … Continue reading Foreign Aid Set to Take a Hit in U.S. Budget Crisis

Barbara Ehrenreich: "Admirers of the rich, led by pundits and politicians on the right — from Laura Ingraham to Larry Kudlow — have long derided the victimization claims of African Americans, women, gays and the unemployed, but now they’re raising their voices to defend the rich against what they see as an ugly tide of … Continue reading Rich people are being ‘demonized’ for flaunting their wealth. Poor dears!

NRO: "So a superior court judge in a relatively civilized jurisdiction is happy to extend the principles underlying legalized abortion in order to mitigate the killing of a legal person — that’s to say, someone who has managed to make it to the post-fetus stage. How long do those mitigating factors apply? I mean, “onerous demands”-wise, the first month of a … Continue reading Fourth-Trimester Abortion

NY Times: "In a decade of frenzied tax-cutting for the rich, the Republican Party just happened to lower tax rates for the poor, as well. Now several of the party’s most prominent presidential candidates and lawmakers want to correct that oversight and raise taxes on the poor and the working class, while protecting the rich, … Continue reading The New Resentment of the Poor

Salon: "How does the Republican Party continue to win elections? The Associated Press is reporting that GOP legislators are opposing the extension of a payroll tax cut that will expire on Jan. 1. The clear, unavoidable message: Americans workers should pay more taxes, while the rich should pay less. That's not a joke, and it's … Continue reading GOP: No tax hikes — except for the poor