Democratic National Committee Boosts Abortion

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Dec. 2 — A recent opinion article in The Wall Street Journal revealed the close ties between Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee — the group responsible for approving or blockingjudges to federal courts, which have exerted strong influence over abortion law — and overtly pro-abortion lobbying groups.

The story cited memos from groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice America, the People for the American Way and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People opposing socially conservative nominees such as Miguel Estrada, who was recently driven to withdraw his name from consideration for a federal judgeship.

These groups objected to Estrada, for example, “because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment,” a Nov. 7, 2001, memo to Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., noted.

Another memo noted, “Most of Bush's nominees are Nazis.”

Producers Benefit From Releasing Family Films

THE NEW YORK TIMES, Dec. 1 — In an entertainment story, The New York Times noted that family-oriented films were the most profitable for Hollywood studios this season, pointing to such movies as Eddie Murphy's The Haunted Mansion, Mike Myers' The Cat in the Hat and Will Ferrell's comedy Elf. The article cited industry observer Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations, who said: “Thanksgiving is the perfect time for family films. If you've got the kids home and you have family activities going on, what better way to keep the family together than going to the movies?”

Movies that did not fare as well included the anti-Christmas comedy Bad Santa.

Kansas City War Hero to be Canonized?

THE KANSAS CITY STAR, Nov. 28 — Father Emil Kapaun, a one-time U.S. Army chaplain, is the object of a campaign for canonization, The Kansas City Star reported.

The newspaper noted the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., had endorsed his cause for canonization and that devotees of the priest had formed a committee to promote it, collecting information on reports of miraculous intercession on the priest's part.

A local priest, Father John Hotze of Newton, Kan., leads the committee.

“The canonization process is quite extensive and will not happen overnight,” he told the paper. “We are just beginning the initial stages.”