Articles for Month: October 2009

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski CORUNNA, Michigan, October 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Harlan James Drake, who is accused of murdering pro-life activist Jim Pouillon in September, was deemed competent to stand trial for the killing by 66th District Court Judge Terrance P. Dignan on Tuesday. Earlier this month Judge Dignan ruled that Drake was incompetent to stand trial, after an evaluation by the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti, and ordered treatment to render him competent. Drake's lawyer said the order was partially based on Drake's attempted suicide on the day following his arrest. On September 12, Drake gashed his arm […]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Through the grace and mercy of God – and the faithful prayers of more than 200,000 volunteers standing vigil outside abortion facilities – an incredible miracle has taken place,” said David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life, in a letter to supporters today. “Starting with the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2004, and continuing through the international 40 Days for Life effort that is under way this fall, we now have confirmed reports of at least 2,000 babies whose lives have been saved from the tragedy […]

Dear Readers, The problems and needed massive reform of the U.S. bishops' social justice arm are astonishingly similar to those of the Canadian bishops' Development and Peace organization that we have been reporting. The new coalition, begun by advocacy organizations HLI, ALL and BVM, appears to have done an outstanding job of launching this initiative, summarizing the problems and proposing excellent solutions. Bravo for them. Check out the various pages on their website. Please read my Special Report Commentary today. Part 2 will come tomorrow. Although only a few groups are named in the report as examples, the arguments apply to […]

By Hilary White October 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an Op Ed in the New York Times, leading US feminist Maureen Dowd has expressed her surprise that recent research continues to find that women, who may have been economically “emancipated” by the feminist revolution, are more unhappy now, forty years later, than men. Calling it a “paradox” that women may have thrown off the aprons, Dowd wrote, “But the more women have achieved, the more they seem aggrieved. Did the feminist revolution end up benefiting men more than women?” Dowd, a journalist and regular columnist for the New York Times, is […]

Speaking tour organized by pro-homosexual, pro-abortion Call to Action and feminist Women's Ordination Conference

By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., October 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Barack Obama has now signed into law a controversial “hate crimes” bill that authorizes the federal government to intervene in violent crimes that appear motivated by hatred of homosexuals and apply stiffer penalties and sentences. President Barack Obama signed the measure into law at 2:30 pm today. A reception is planned for 5 pm., and President Obama is expected to deliver some brief remarks on the bill at around 6:05 pm. The expanded hate crime legislation extends special protection to victims of crime who are targeted by perpetrators […]

By Peter J. Smith WATERTOWN, New York, October 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the fierce three way battle for representation of the 23rd New York congressional district, each candidate knows “it ain't over 'til it's over,” but two new polls suggest that Conservative Party upstart Doug Hoffman might have taken the lead. Two polls commissioned by the conservative Club for Growth and Minuteman PAC suggest Hoffman has taken the lead over Democrat Bill Owens and Republican Dede Scozzafava in the contest for a district that has voted GOP since the Civil War. Despite Republican Scozzafava's extreme liberal views – pro-abortion, […]

By Kathleen Gilbert BERKELEY, California, October 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The University of California Berkeley campus erupted into a hotbed of controversy earlier this week after the Genocide Awareness Project set up an immense two-day display of graphic abortion images in the midst of what is considered one of the most liberal universities in America. The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform teamed up with the on-campus group Berkeley Students for Life on Monday and Tuesday to set up the large images of aborted children, juxtaposed with the images and words of President Obama.  The huge billboards quickly attracted curious onlookers and […]

By James Tillman WASHINGTON, DC, October 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com)—Recent animal research backs previous sociological research by indicating that children raised by single mothers may experience reduced brain development, leading to an increase in aggressive behavior, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The findings come from research on degus, which are small rodents related to guinea pigs.  Degu parents usually raise their pups together.  When deprived of their father, however, degu pups exhibited developmental changes in the amygdala, the part of the brain related to emotional responses and to fear, and in the orbitofrontal cortex, or OFC, the […]