Catholic Moral Theology: "Therefore, in concert with our recent popes and bishops, we oppose the death penalty, whether a person on death row is guilty or innocent, on both theological and practical grounds. While we especially deplore and lament the killing of Troy Davis, we also decry the death sentences of the more than 3,200 … Continue reading A Catholic Call to Abolish the Death Penalty
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dies at 71
NY Times: "Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist who started out by paying women a few shillings to plant trees and went on to become the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, died late on Sunday after battling cancer. She was 71."
Troy Davis Executed After Stay Denied by Supreme Court
ABC News: "Troy Davis was executed this evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute stay of execution."
Liechtenstein rejects plan to legalize abortion
AP: "Voters in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein on Sunday rejected a plan to legalize abortion, following a bitterly fought campaign that saw the country's prince threaten to veto the proposed change in the law."
A Diplomatic Surge to Stop Somalia’s Famine
Ken Menkhaus: "Somalia is dying. Three-quarters of a million people are at immediate risk of famine; another 750,000 are refugees in neighboring countries, and 4 million – half the total population – is in need of emergency aid. It is a calamity that could join the ranks of the Rwanda genocide and the Darfur crisis in … Continue reading A Diplomatic Surge to Stop Somalia’s Famine
Glimpses of the Next Great Famine
Nicholas Kristof: "What's most heartbreaking about starving children isn’t the patches of hair that fall out, the mottled skin and painful sores, the bones poking through taut skin. No, it’s the emptiness in their faces. These children are conscious and their eyes follow you — but lethargically, devoid of expression, without tears or screams or … Continue reading Glimpses of the Next Great Famine
Davis case helps focus on what's wrong with death penalty
James Acker: "Troy Davis, scheduled to be executed next week in Georgia for the murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, could be a capital error that is about to happen. Davis was convicted and sentenced to death more than 20 years ago by a jury that heard testimony from at least nine witnesses who … Continue reading Davis case helps focus on what's wrong with death penalty
Fourth-Trimester Abortion
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
California Passes First-Ever State Bill on Congo Conflict Minerals
Laura Heaton: "It began with individuals, spread to campuses, was taken up by cities, and last Friday California became the very first U.S. state to take action on conflict minerals from Congo. By a vote of 67 to 11, the California state assembly passed a bill that prohibits state agencies from signing contracts with companies … Continue reading California Passes First-Ever State Bill on Congo Conflict Minerals
Bush's Legacy — Women's Health?
National Journal: "In his first big initiative since leaving the White House, former President George W. Bush announced the launch of a major public health project on Tuesday, one focused on providing cancer screening and treatment for women in the developing world, possibly including HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer."
The Whole Life Democrat 