Deal W. Hudson

Change Is Coming to Our Nation's Abortion Laws

As I wrote this column, I thought of the prominent Catholic leaders, such as Doug Kmiec and Nick Cafardi, who sold Barack Obama as "pro-life."  The experience of watching this spectacle in the last campaign made a Kafka novel seem like a children's book.



Change Is Coming to Nation's Abortion Laws
Deal W. Hudson
12/15/08
The Window
(published today at www.insidecatholic.com)

Go to Change.gov, the web site of president-elect Obama, and you find a document entitled "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration." Signed by dozens of pro-abortion groups, including Catholics for Choice, this 55-page document provides an overview of the marching orders for the Obama administration in removing all present restrictions on abortions while dramatically increasing abortion funding.

Anyone who has bought into the myth that Obama is "moderating" his positions should notice that the first section is entitled "Steps for the First Hundred Days." The groups that have spent millions supporting pro-abortion members of Congress, including Obama and Biden, aren't in the mood to wait.

Many of the recommendations are about who gets government support. The pro-abortion groups not only want more money -- nearly $3 billion -- but they also want the government to stop funding groups who do not share their ideology.

For example, notice the following four recommendations out of the many contained in the document:

·         Provide $1 Billion for International Family Planning Programs

·         Restore Funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

·         Increase Funding for Title X Family Planning Program to $700 Million

·         De-fund Abstinence-Only Programs

Taken together, the proposed policies would accomplish three things: 1) treat abortion as a health care right, 2) provide funding for abortions by insurance carriers or the government, and 3) put judges and political appointees in place who will protect the abortion and government-funding from future challenges.

Included in the document is a complete list of vacancies in the Federal Circuit Courts and a two-page list of federal appointees who should be vetted closely on their support for the abortion right. The bulk of these positions are found in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Justice Department, the State Department, and the U. S. Agency for International Development.

The billions being demanded for abortion funding will eventually flow unimpeded through these channels.

To read the rest of the column, click here.

Soul Children of Chicago

Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com

Just when I could not bear another mention of Chicago, the Soul Children of that windy city brought Jesus alive tonight in the Davies Symphony hall.  I had never heard of this group, whose founder, director and prime-motivator Walter W. Whitman, Jr. - the son of a US Air Force Sergeant - dared to bring a revival-styled concert into the august corridors of this secular, Christian-bashing city.  He was under no illusion, repeatedly thanking the "favor" of the Lord for the opportunity.

Even if you don't like gospel, this group is worthy of note, having performed at the Vatican for John Paul II and with the Kibbutz Orchestra in Israel, as well as boasting numerous recordings.  On Monday, they depart for the Holy Ghost Conference in Lagos, Nigeria, where an audience of 7.1 million people is expected over 3 days.  Watch the Soul Children of Chicago's 2007 Joy to World, and you will get a flavor of the divine abundance they offer.  For, as Mr. Whitman noted tonight, nothing works right unless it comes from above.

Mr. Whitman's musical delivery is the more remarkable for its performers, "at-risk youth" (7-17) who focus on their music, "cultural enlightenment, academic achievement, and self-discipline."  The group boasts an impressive 95% high school graduation rate, and onto college.  The discipline and faithfulness of the "children"  infuses the performance and their musical talent with a strong message of hope and success in the Lord. 

Their dignity and harnessed talent (prepared to hum, harmonize, bend, freeze, rap and get down at the twitch of Mr. Whitman's eyebrow) brought the crowd to its feet, arm-waving, praising Jesus, singing-along soulfully Angels We Have Heard on High, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and the longest, most kinetic, Go Tell It On A Mountain I've ever seen performed (much less sung out loud).  Intermittently, Mr. Whitman preened to the audience, "these kids are drug-free, crime-free, academically sound" young people! 

For the last song, Shabach, Mr. Whitman called all the youth in the audience to the front "to give them something - because we must" and taught them a series of Hebrew words of worship and celebration.  He reminded the audience, now fully enraptured, "This is not a performance; this is who we are."  More than one San Franciscan went home tonight, with the warm glow and love only an old-time Jesus revival offers.