Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses, Government Documents Show

Alan Keyes has summed up the 2012 presidential election as "a choice between Satan and Beelzebub."  Were Christians to choose between these two evils, would we differ morally from either the communist intent on destroying America, or the hollow, culture of death profiteer?

From Mother Jones 

By David Corn 

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Zuma

Earlier this year, Mitt Romney nearly landed in a politically perilous controversy when the Huffington Post reported that in 1999 the GOP presidential candidate had been part of an investment group that invested $75 million in Stericycle, a medical-waste disposal firm that has been attacked by anti-abortion groups for disposing aborted fetuses collected from family planning clinics. Coming during the heat of the GOP primaries, as Romney tried to sell South Carolina Republicans on his pro-life bona fides, the revelation had the potential to damage the candidate's reputation among values voters already suspicious of his shifting position on abortion.

Read the rest of this entry at Mother Jones >>

A Discussion of "The Presidents' Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity"

This is a fascinating conversation about a must read book.  Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy discuss with Peter Robinson their new book The Presidents' Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity.  It reveals the extraordinarily complex roles, contributions and inter-relationships of America's former Presidents.

Wheaton College, Catholic University Jointly Sue Over Birth Control Mandate

From The Christian Post

By Napp Nazworth

(Photo: The Catholic University of America/Ed Pfueller)

At the foot of the Thomas Jefferson memorial, President John Garvey (CUA), President Philip Ryken (Wheaton), President Bill Mumma (Becket Fund).

Wheaton College, an evangelical institution, joined forces Wednesday with Catholic University of America to sue the government for requiring that it provide health insurance coverage for some abortifacient drugs to its employees and students.

Wheaton's main reason for filing suit, Dr. Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College, explained in a Wednesday conference call with reporters, is that the pro-life institution opposes the use of abortifacient drugs and would be forced to violate its religious beliefs.

"This insurance mandate is against our conscience and against our Christian convictions. We have no recourse now but to file suit," Ryken said.

Ryken added that Wheaton and Catholic University also wanted to demonstrate cross-denominational solidarity on the issue of religious freedom.

"We have a respect for Roman Catholic institutions and in this case we recognize we have common cause with Catholic University of America and other Catholic institutions in defending religious liberty. We're, in effect, co-belligerents in this fight against government action. I think the fact that evangelicals and Catholics are coming together on this issue ought to be a sign to all Americans that something really significant for religious liberty is at stake."

Read the rest of this entry at The Christian Post >>

For the First Time, Canadians Now Richer Than Americans

The average Canadian household is worth about $40,000 more than their American counterparts

While Americans might enjoy throwing politically-charged barbs at their neighbors to the north, Canadians now have at least one reason to be smug.

For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto's Globe and Mail.

And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.

 Read the rest of this entry at U.S. News & World Report >>

Glenn Radio Ad Slams Hoekstra Record On Wall Street Bailout, Spending, Unions

MIDLAND, MI -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gary Glenn, who is endorsed by a statewide coalition of over 40 local TEA Party groups, Wednesday will launch a statewide radio buy that touts the TEA Party movement and slams former nine-term Congressman Pete Hoekstra's support for the Wall Street bailout, increased federal debt, and forced unionization of state and local government employees.

"When TEA Party and other conservative Republican primary voters learn about Congressman Hoekstra's big-spending, Big Labor voting record," Glenn said Tuesday, "they'll know he's not the candidate we can trust to hold Debbie Stabenow accountable for her record on those issues."

Sheriff's Investigators: “President's Long Form Birth Certificate is Undoubtedly a Fraud

Hawaii immigration loophole could pose national security concern, Sheriff Joe Arpaio says

 

FOX 10 News - Phoenix, AZ | KSAZ-TV

(Phoenix, AZ) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, along with Cold Case Posse Lead Investigator Mike Zullo, held a news conference today regarding information stemming from an exhaustive examination into President Obama’s long form birth certificate.

Zullo told reporters that the information he developed confirms that the document presented to the American public by the White House in April 2011 is undoubtedly fraudulent.

Scholars Publish Study of College Summer Reading Assignments

Beach Books: What do colleges and universities want students to read outside of class?

By Michael R. Cook

The National Association of Scholars publishes an annual study of college summer reading assignments.  The NAS study is quite revealing -- and provides disturbing evidence that the traditional aim of higher education, the pursuit of truth, has been replaced by a dubious amalgam of moral relativism and political correctness.

The NAS study lists and categorizes the books assigned as summer reading to incoming college freshmen.  Almost invariably, the books assigned in these common reading programs are recent works of questionable quality.  These books seem to be selected primarily on the basis of the "values" (i.e., political messages) they impart. 

The classic works of literature, history, philosophy, and science are almost never assigned.

The NAS study is worth reviewing in its entirety, but pages 1-5 (Executive Summary) and 22-23 (The Fall of Literature) are especially interesting. 

Also worth noting is a list of books the NAS recommends as alternatives to the drivel that colleges currently assign in their summer reading programs.  The NAS list, which begins on page 78 of the study, includes the kinds of works one supposes students will read during their college careers (but one shouldn't hold one's breath!). 

Every year the NAS offers such a list, and every year the colleges ignore it.

The NAS study highlights the lamentable fact that the "great books" -- along with the great ideas -- have for the most part been banished from college curricula, in favor of a politicized patchwork of courses emphasizing race, class, and gender grievances.

Surely this cannot be what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he founded the University of Virginia.

College tuition, room and board is fast approaching $60,000 per year at elite private institutions.  But our colleges and universities -- including the elite ones -- seem to be pursuing the educational mission with less and less seriousness.

Beach Books: What Do Colleges Want Students to Read Outside Class