This story was written By Rex Rhoades. He was actually there. It’s worth reading.

One-child policy has curbed China’s population, but it has also produced millions of orphans.

The blue-suited police officers were inside the orphanage when our team from L-A College arrived. They had just walked in with a cardboard box containing a week-old infant girl, perhaps abandoned in response to China’s strict population control policies.

It’s a scene that’s been repeated countless times across China over the past 25 years since adoption of the nation’s controversial “one-child” policy.

But it’s really an ancient story rooted in Chinese culture and economic realities.

For many centuries China had been plagued by periodic famines and starvation. Usually, this resulted from poor weather or floods, but in 1959 and 1960, millions of Chinese also starved to death when an attempt by Mao Tse-tung to collectivize farms went awry. Private farm ownership was eliminated, and farm families were forced into thousands of communes.

It was a tragic failure.

But the repeated shortages of food were also worsened by two simple facts: In China, about 22 percent of the world’s people live on 7 percent of the world’s arable land.

In the late 1970s, Chinese leaders realized that with such a high fertility rate (the average Chinese woman was bearing about six children in her lifetime), the country’s population could quickly - and catastrophically - outstrip its ability to produce food.

So, in 1979, Chinese leadership embarked on an ambitious program of economic growth and birth control.

And, they have succeeded on both fronts. China’s fertility rate is now about 1.7 children per woman, and its economy has been the fastest growing in the world.

The Chinese government estimates that its policies have prevented 250 to 300 million births.

Story

Tom Snyder who pioneered late-late night television has died of leukemia at the age of 71.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Tom Snyder, who pioneered the late-late network TV talk show with a personal yet abrasive style and his robust, trademark laugh, has died from complications associated with leukemia. He was 71.
Snyder died Sunday in San Francisco, his longtime producer and friend Mike Horowicz told The Associated Press on Monday.

“Tom was a fighter,” Horowicz said. “I know he had tried many different treatments.”

Prickly and ego-driven, Snyder conducted numerous memorable interviews as host of NBC’s “Tomorrow,” which followed Johnny Carson’s “Tonight” show from 1973 to ‘82. A signature was the constant billowing of cigarette smoke around his head.

Snyder’s style, his show’s set and the show itself marked an abrupt change at 1 a.m. from Carson’s program. Snyder might joke with the crew in the sparsely appointed studio, but he was more likely to joust with guests such as the irascible science fiction writer Harlan Ellison.

Story.

Tammy Faye (Bakker) Messner went home to heaven on Friday according to CNN’s Larry King, who said the family wanted him to announce the death.

(CNN) — Tammy Faye Messner, the former televangelist and Christian singer who battled drug addiction and later inoperable cancer, died Friday morning, according to CNN’s Larry King on Saturday night. He said the family had asked him to make the delayed announcement.

She was 65.

“She died peacefully,” King said.

Story here.

She was on the Larry King program via pre-recording on Thursday night.

She was alert at that time, and praise God her suffering is finished and now she can bask in the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, as died at her home in Austin of natural causes.

I always admired Mrs. Johnson, as she and probably Pat Nixon were the last First Ladies before the current one who were not political but found a cause and pushed for it from their position as First Lady.

Mrs. Johnson’s cause was the beautification of America, and when you see the beautiful wildflowers planted on the medians of highways, think of Mrs. Johnson.

My heart and prayers go out to Lynda and Luci and families on the loss of their mother and grandmother.

Ruth Bell Graham Dies

Wife of Billy Graham Succumbs to Lingering Illness, Surrounded by Loved Ones at Her Deathbed

MONTREAT, N.C., JUNE 14—Mrs. Ruth Bell Graham, beloved wife of world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham, died at 5:05 p.m. today, at her home at Little Piney Cove in Montreat, N.C., surrounded by her husband and all five children. She was 87. Dates and times for a family-only interment ceremony and a public memorial service will be released when available.

“Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team,” Mr. Graham said of his life-long marriage and ministry partner. “No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

“I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together,” Mr. Graham continued. “We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.”

Mr. Graham confirmed today that his wife’s final resting place will be at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway in the Prayer Garden on the grounds of the recently dedicated Library bearing his name adjacent to his ministry headquarters in Charlotte. Earlier this year the Grahams agreed together that they would be buried side-by-side at the Library, a decision made by the two of them alone.

Ruth Bell was born June 10, 1920, in Qingjiang, Kiangsu, China, the daughter of medical missionaries L. Nelson and Virginia Leftwich Bell. She attended high school in Pyongyang, (now North) Korea. She first came to the United States at the age of 7, while her parents were on furlough. She returned to the U.S. at the age of 17 to attend Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. Shortly after his arrival on campus, she was introduced to “Preacher,” the nickname other students gave the strapping Billy Graham from Charlotte, North Carolina. They were married in August, 1943, following their graduating together that June.

Between 1945 and 1958, Mrs. Graham gave birth to five children, whom she raised—sometimes single-handedly—while her husband was away on extended national and international evangelistic crusades. The three daughters and two sons who survive her are all actively involved in ministry, including eldest son Franklin, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) founded by his father.

“My father would not have been what he is today if it wasn’t for my mother,” Franklin said. “She stood strong for what was biblically correct and accurate. She would help my father prepare his messages, listening with an attentive ear, and if she saw something that wasn’t right or heard something that she felt wasn’t as strong as it could be, she was a voice to strengthen this or eliminate that. Every person needs that kind of input in their life and she was that to my father.”

In 1959, Mrs. Graham published her first book, “Our Christmas Story,” an illustrated volume for children. She went on to write or co-author 13 other books, many of them works of poetry she wrote as an emotional release while her husband was so often on the road through the years.

“I don’t believe Mother has adequately been recognized and honored for what she had done; because, without her, Daddy’s ministry would not have been possible,” said Ruth Graham, youngest daughter—and namesake—regarding her mother’s influence and partnership in her father’s ministry.

“How does one live with one of the world’s most famous men?” daughter Ruth continued. “God began training my mother for this position years ago in China. Her parents exercised a profound effect upon the development of her character, and laid the foundations for who she was. What she witnessed in her family home, she practiced for herself—dependence on God in every circumstance, love for His Word, concern for others above self, and an indomitable spirit displayed with a smile.

“Her happiness and fulfillment did not depend on her circumstances,” the younger Ruth concluded. “She was a lovely, beautiful and wise woman, because early in life she made Christ her home, her purpose, her center, her confidant, and her vision.”

Mrs. Graham’s significant role in Mr. Graham’s ministry was recognized in 1996, when they were jointly awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in a special ceremony in the Capital Rotunda in Washington, which reflected a consensus of love and support from all branches of government in attendance.

Ruth Graham was always a vital part of Mr. Graham’s evangelistic career, and he turned to her for advice and input about many ministry decisions. One of the early uses of media by the BGEA was the “Hour of Decision” radio program begun in 1950, which she named. After her upbringing in China and high school experience in Korea, she continued to have a burden for the people of Asia. She encouraged her husband to visit and later accompanied him during his historic visits to the People’s Republic of China.

Ruth Graham has been in frail health since suffering spinal meningitis in 1995. That was exacerbated by a degenerative back condition that began with a fall out of a tree while helping a grandchild fix a swing in 1974 that resulted in chronic back pain for many years. Bedridden or wheelchair-bound since the late 1990s, Mrs. Graham wasn’t able to accompany her husband during his last few years of ministry, but was always a continued source of inspiration and support for him through her prayers and wise biblical counsel.

Mrs. Graham is survived by her husband Billy; daughters Virginia, Anne Morrow, and Ruth Bell; sons William Franklin, III, and Nelson Edman; 19 grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren.

Former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim has died at the age of 88.

For those of you who don’t remember the tall Austrian, it was found out after he left the UN he was collaborating with the Nazis in World War II and was subsequently banned from entering the U.S.

After leaving the UN he was elected president of Austria.

Waldheim, who served as U.N. chief from 1972-81, was first confronted with purported evidence of his personal implication in wartime atrocities when he ran for the Austrian presidency in 1986. He consistently denied any wrongdoing, defending himself against disclosures made by his main accuser, the World Jewish Congress, and by foreign media.

But his initial denial of serving in the German army unit—and then assertions that he and fellow Austrians were only doing their duty—led to international censure and a decision by Washington to place him on a “watch list” of persons prohibited from visiting the United States. That ban was never lifted.

Waldheim’s ascendancy to the presidency led to a bruising controversy at home, and it damaged Austria’s reputation abroad. During his tenure from 1986-92, Austria was largely shunned by foreign leaders, and he never honored his pledge to be a strong president.

The current president of Austria, Heinz Fischer, declared “We have lost a great Austrian.”

I fail to see the greatness of someone who participated in Nazi atrocities.

51 year old Yolanda Denise King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, CA.

The cause of death is unknown, but the family believes it was from some sort of heart condition.

Her death comes just a little over a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King.

Our prayers and condolences go out to her brothers, sister and extended family.

As usual, we welcome the readers who visited us via the Anchoress. Take a look around and maybe come back sometime soon.

Jerry Falwell, the pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA, and Chancellor of Liberty University has died at the age of 73. In addition he built Christian elementary schools, homes for unwed mothers and a home for alcoholics.

He had been found unconscious in his office earlier today and efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

We send our condolences to his entire family, knowing they are secure in the knowledge he is now in the presence of the Savior he served for so many years.

Forget what you thought about his politics, and think of his ministry. God has taken one of His warriors to be home for eternity and even though his friends and loved ones will be sad that he’s no longer here, they can shout for joy that he is in the presence of his Lord and Savior.

May he rest in peace.

Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin has died, reportedly and unofficially of heart failure.

It was Yeltsin who stood up to the Soviet government when Mikhail Gorbachev was under house arrest, and it was Yeltsin who led Russia into a more free direction.

MOSCOW (AP) - Former President Boris Yeltsin, who engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, has died, a Kremlin official said Monday. He was 76.

Kremlin spokesman Alexander Smirnov confirmed Yeltsin’s death, but gave no cause or further information. The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified medical source as saying he had died of heart failure.

Although Yeltsin pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, many of its citizens will remember him mostly for presiding over the country’s steep decline.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, summed up the complexity of Yeltsin’s in a condolence statement minutes after the death was announced. He referred to Yeltsin as one “on whose shoulders are both great deeds for the country and serious errors,” according to the news agency Interfax.

Yeltsin was a contradictory figure, rocketing to popularity in the Communist era on pledges to fight corruption - but proving unable, or unwilling, to prevent the looting of state industry as it moved into private hands during his nine years as Russia’s first freely elected president.

Yeltsin steadfastly defended freedom of the press, but was a master at manipulating the media. His hand-picked successor, Vladimir Putin, has proven far more popular even as he has tightened Kremlin control over both Russia’s industry and its press.

Yeltsin amassed as much power as possible in his office - then gave it all up in a dramatic New Year’s address at the end of 1999.

Yeltsin’s greatest moments came in bursts. He stood atop a tank to resist an attempted coup in August 1991, and spearheaded the peaceful end of the Soviet state on Dec. 25 of that year. Ill with heart problems, and facing possible defeat by a Communist challenger in his 1996 re-election bid, he marshaled his energy and sprinted through the final weeks of the campaign. The challenge transformed the shaky convalescent into the spry, dancing candidate.

It’s too bad he hand-picked Putin because he seems to be taking the country back to a ruthless dictatorship.

I hope he rests in peace and will pray for his survivors in their hour of grief.

Patricia Aldyn Austin Taylor Buckley — Pat Buckley, as so many knew her, WFB’s beloved — died last night at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut.

She died of septic poisoning following a vascular operation on her left leg.

Pat had been married to WFB since July 1950 and is mother of the acclaimed writer Christopher Buckley.

She’s been a core part of the NR family — hosting editorial dinners in her home, among many other intrusions — since its conception and her loss will be felt by many.

Bill and Christopher are in so many of our prayers today. R.I.P, Mrs. Buckley.

UPDATE: A more official obituary is here.