Category Archives: Current Events

Happy Presidents’ Day!

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Hopefully you do know that today, the third Monday in February, is “Presidents’ Day.” It celebrates the birthdays of two of the greatest Presidents: George Washington (born Feb. 22, 1732), and Abraham Lincoln (born Feb. 12, 1809).

Although our current Presidents’ Day aims to honor only Washington and Lincoln (as it should), it just so happens that two other Presidents were also born in this month: William Henry Harrison (Feb. 9, 1773), and, the great Ronald W. Reagan (Feb. 6, 1911). My birthday is also in February, on the 29th (yes, I was born in a leap year, 1960). The current President, Barack H. Obama, is actually younger than I am, born on August 4, 1961. Hmm….

OTHER PRESIDENTIAL BIRTHDAYS? October has the the most presidential birthdays (six, including three of my favorites, John Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, & Theodore Roosevelt); and, the second most popular month for presidential birthdays is November with five. There is a tie between June and September for having the least presidential birthdays (each has one).

Let us pause and give thanks to God for our good and godly leaders. And, let us pray for our current President, as we are exhorted to do in the New Testament —

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
–1 Timothy 2

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Haiti — in numbers…

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The following is compiled and presented by CNN:

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Two weeks after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, the numbers have mounted. The numbers tell stories of death and destruction, as well as a global outpouring of aid. CNN has compiled the latest, most reliable figures available as the devastation continues to unfold:

THE TOLL
150,000: Latest estimate of the death toll, from the Haitian Health Ministry. The European Union and the Pan American Health Organization, which is coordinating the health-sector response, have estimated the quake killed 200,000 people.
194,000: Number of injured
134: Estimated number of people rescued by international search teams since the quake

THE EFFECT
9 million: Population of Haiti
3 million: Estimated number of people affected by the quake
1.5 million: Homeless people living on streets, including the thousands who lived in slums or makeshift homes prior to the quake
235,000: People who have left Port-au-Prince using free transportation provided by the government. The number who left by private means is undetermined.
At least 50: Aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or higher that have hit Haiti since the January 12 quake

THE CHILDREN
300,000: Children younger than 2 who need nutritional support
90: Percentage of schools in Port-au-Prince that have been destroyed
497: Haitian orphans who have been evacuated

THE RESPONSE IN DOLLARS
$1.12 billion: International aid pledges
$783 million: Funds received as of Tuesday
$317 million: U.S. assistance as of Monday

THE RESPONSE IN MANPOWER
17,000: U.S. military personnel in and around Haiti
8 million: Meals the World Food Programme has delivered to nearly 400,000 people
300: Aid distribution sites that are up and running
130 to 150: Flights arriving every day at the single-runway Port-au-Prince airport with aid

EFFECT ON FOREIGNERS
12,000: U.N. workers in the country at the time of the quake
53: U.N. workers still missing
At least 82: U.N. workers confirmed dead
27: U.N. workers injured or hospitalized
11,500: Americans and family members who have been evacuated
4,800: Americans unaccounted for
60: Americans confirmed dead

Sources: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Red Cross, the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department and the World Food Programme, Haiti Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive