Seeing War’s Victims: The New York Times Investigation of Civilian Casualties in Iraq and Syria
by John Whitehead The New York Times recently published the results of an in-depth investigation into American bombing and its consequences. The Times articles, which came out in late December 2021, focused on the American bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria against ISIS. Drawing on internal Defense Department documents and extensive interviews, including with those…
Scientific Integrity Problems – Psychology
The following letter (lightly edited) was sent in December, 2021. Membership Department, American Psychological Association (APA) Dear colleagues: I have been a member since 1996, and have (for identification only) served as membership chair and 2013 president of Division 48, peace psychology. I tolerated having occasional disagreements with APA organizational policy because this was my…
December 28: Day of the Massacre of the Innocents
Happy Holidays! For the source on the Massacre of the Holy Innocents, see the Biblical book of Matthew, chapter 2. This echoes Exodus 1:16. Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, pp. 80-81 (reading for) December 28 After Jesus was born, Matthew’s gospel records that King Herod was…
The Impact of Family Caps on Abortion
by Sarah Terzo Women sometimes choose abortion due to poverty. Therefore, the existence of social programs to help the poor have an impact on the abortion rate, according to numerous studies. Researcher Laura Hussey asked the following question to women who had abortions: Other countries provide a lot of assistance to women and their families…
The Consistent Life Ethic and Traditional Tantra
(Not the Tantra That You May Have Heard Of) by Acyutananda First let me say that I could be wrong in my beliefs. Like any member of any faith tradition who lives in a cosmopolitan environment, I meet people every day whose beliefs seem to flatly contradict my own, and who are not dumb. So…
Open Letter to Governor Stitt: the Pro-life Case against the Death Penalty
Dear Governor Stitt: As an organization, we at the Consistent Life Network have signed on to the letter calling on you to stop Oklahoma executions. The letter was sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma, which was seeking many signatories. As a pro-life/pro-peace group, we strenuously object to the ACLU’s position on…
Abortion Facilitates Sex Abuse: Documentation
by Rachel MacNair I recently wrote this item for our newsletter, Peace and Life Connections: Rachel Maddow had an October 12, 2021 segment where she said, “One provider in Houston spoke of a 12-year-old patient who came in with her mother . . . The 12-year-old said, mom it was an accident, why are they…
Re-Imaging Our Worth
by Rosalyn Mitchell Rachael Denhollander is a survivor. She fights for justice as a Christian lawyer, mother, activist, and former gymnast. The author of What is a Girl Worth? asks a core question of the sexual abuse scandal that rocked United States Gymnastics, the Olympic movement, and broader society. She is the first public accuser…
Social Programs to Help the Poor are Pro-life
by Sarah Terzo Statistics in the United States One of the most common reasons women give for having abortions is they can’t afford to care for their baby. In a 2004 study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, of U.S. women who had abortions, 73% gave this as one of the reasons There’s evidence the…
“Is One Life Issue More Important Than the Rest?”: A Question That Might Not Need an Answer
by John Whitehead Consistent Life Ethic activists generally have varying interpretations of the Ethic. Some take an absolutist stance on nonviolence, others allow exceptions to strict nonviolence. Some tend to specialize on working against a particular threat to life, others tend to work against multiple threats. Another difference among Consistent Life Ethic activists (which relates…