Cluster of wheat image Grapes and vines image Cluster of wheat image
December 26th, 2010

SEMINAL THOUGHTS

“Natural” is in!   The pristine forest!  Pure uncontaminated water!    In many ways people believe that “natural” is best.    There is, for example,   a strong movement to return to  “organic” foods.   Also, after years of bottle-feeding for babies, the return to breastfeeding is thriving. I have been writing for fifty years about the reasons why “breast is best” and am heartened to see prime-time commercials by WIC and WHO urging women to nurse their babies for better health. The once strong move toward natural childbirth, however,  seems to be flagging.   A few women are on that bandwagon, having babies with midwives and doulas, but  many more seem to opt for births with injections and medications to relieve pain or strengthen  contractions, and often  even have Cesareans which are not of medical necessity.

On the other hand, who nowadays goes around saying  that natural sex is best?  Hardly anyone.*   Methods of “having sex” abound.  Only one of them can be considered natural.   Sex is only natural when the sperm ends up in a woman’s vagina.    By analogy, eating would not be considered natural if food were placed in  ear or rectum!  The mouth is obviously designed for eating, witness the taste buds,  teeth, tongue, saliva, swallowing mechanism, and tube to the stomach.   Food in inappropriate places only wreaks distress and causes disease.  Likewise, only in heterosexual intercourse can sperm achieve their purpose.    A vagina is marvelously accommodating and lubricated,  resistant to infection,  and heterosexual intercourse provides pleasure as a bonus to both parties!

How can it be imagined that natural sex would result in sperm in a baggie?  How can it be imagined that natural sex can occur when a woman’s hormones are so deranged by contraceptives that she does not ovulate, that she does not emit the “come hither” pheromones of a “natural woman”?   A woman on “the pill”  has been rendered biologically sterile and then wonders why she has no desire, and does not arouse desire in men.  

Years ago Herbert Ratner, MD, wrote about the two fluids that are  produced by human beings which are not for themselves but for “the other.”  The first, obviously, is the milk produced by a woman after she has given birth.  Common sense decrees  that it is for the baby.   Science has demonstrated that it contains many chemicals that foster growth, reduce disease, enhance immunity, and so on,  as well as providing that wonderful skin-to-skin closeness with its psychological benefits.

The second fluid produced for “the other” is the seminal fluid of a man.  No one doubts that those little sperm swimming around with their 23 chromosomes are designed to meet up with an egg, also with 23 chromosomes, to produce a new human, with the proper complement of 46 chromosomes and an entirely different genome.

Less recognized, however, and just recently coming into its own, are the properties of the seminal fluid that carries the sperm.   Does it do anything for “the other” — that is, the woman — besides provide a little lubrication?

Research psychologist Jesse Bering in a September 2010 Scientific American opens his article with the following paragraph:

Dear readers: I have come upon a secret treasure, a heretofore-unknown bounty of facts only recently unearthed by a team of evolutionary psychologists. A vital forewarning, though:  although the data and information I am about to share oozes with the promise of dramatically improving virtually every aspect of your wellbeing, it can also be abused with tragic—even fatal—consequences. This is so much the case, in fact, that I debated the merits of popularizing this material and do so here only with great circumspection and caution. So please be wise in digesting this semen-related knowledge, and be wiser still in applying it to your own sex lives

Bering explains that only 1-5% of the male ejaculate consists of sperm cells. The fluid bearing the sperm is called the seminal plasma.  “In fact, semen has a very complicated chemical profile, containing over 50 different compounds  (including hormones, neurotransmitters, endorphins and immunosuppressants) each with a special function and occurring in different concentrations within the seminal plasma. Perhaps the most striking of these compounds is the bundle of mood-enhancing chemicals in semen. There is good in this goo. Such anxiolytic chemicals include, but are by no means limited to, cortisol (known to increase affection), estrone (which elevates mood), prolactin (a natural antidepressant), oxytocin (also elevates mood), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (another antidepressant), melatonin (a sleep-inducing agent) and even serotonin (perhaps the most well-known antidepressant neurotransmitter).”

It is not surprising in our current culture  that in googling “beneficial effects of semen” we come up with reputed  benefits from ingesting the semen!  However, should the semen go to its intended destination, knowing that the vagina readily absorbs chemicals introduced into it, it is only logical to expect that the above mood-enhancing, anxiolytic, antidepressant results would be experienced by the female partner.  Recent studies have indeed shown that semen has an antidepressant effect on a woman.   Likewise, the female hormones present in the semen (follicle-stimulating hormone – FSH – and luteinizing hormone – LH) are presumed to hasten the ripening and release of eggs from the ovary following intercourse.

As we learn more and more about the constituents of the fluids intended for “the other” it seems a shame to pass up  the benefits they offer. While natural  breastfeeding is now popular,  natural sex is hard to find in our society.  Either the men are condom-clad or the women have their hormones synthetically altered, or both.  We know pheromones are operative in the lower mammals.  A bitch in heat will attract male dogs from miles around.  It is believed that similar come-hither scents are operative in humans — there’s good money in selling colognes laced with pheromones – and it is also known that  female monkeys  cease to be sexually attractive to the males when they are given contraceptive pills.  My post THE PHEROMONE CONNECTION goes into this in more detail.

While sex  without a condom, with a woman  fully  hormonized (and harmonized),  seems ideal, many would protest that natural sex  would result in babies all over the place.   Really?  We have demographers complaining about a birth dearth.   We have nations losing their identity  because the natives are not having children but the Muslim immigrants are.  It is said that France will be a Muslim nation in a decade or two.   Germany cries  “Where have all the children gone!”


Mr. Bering is seriously mistaken if he thinks learning about the benefits of semen is like discovering “a secret treasure.”   As long ago as  the 1980’s the previously mentioned Dr. Herbert Ratner wrote ….

— let us observe that the nursling’s gastrointestinal tract is physiologically, biochemically, and anatomically attuned to the digestion of breast milk, just as the vagina is attuned to coitus and the absorption of semen.  Of immediate interest is the immunosuppressive effect of seminal plasma (the carrier of the sperm).  This plasma contains very powerful prostaglandins, stronger than those to be found in any other biological tissue fluids…..The sturdy, muscular, multi-layered vaginal wall is so constituted that it absorbs the seminal plasma at a slow, modulated rate in order to produce mild immunosuppression sufficient to protect the sperm and embryo from maternal antibodies.

I dare say that Dr. Ratner, believing that humans are designed by a master designer, knew a priori there where would be “good in that goo” as Bering writes, and the science only confirmed it.    

The natural, sensible, healthy alternative to make-believe sex has been slowly gaining ground – NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING.   NFP is as effective as contraceptive pills or condoms with none of the expense, side-effects, or overriding of the woman’s hormonal harmony with synthetic hormones to shut her down and turn her off.   Truly natural sex uses reason and self-discipline instead of artificial drugs and rubbers which make a mockery of the whole encounter.

Someone named Michael G.  posted this comment on someone else’s blog.  It says so well what I want to get across.

When we try to do life our own way, according to our own instruction manual, we get so frustrated, because we aren’t being used for the purpose for which we were designed. It’s like using a paintbrush to change a diaper, or a hammer to eat dinner. When something is serving its designer’s intent, effectiveness, impact, peace, and fulfillment are plentiful.

*Here I must add a plug for Patrick Coffin’s recent book, Sex Au Naturel, which is so well recommended by such well-qualified persons that I do not hesitate to second the recommendation.   I was sorely tempted to use that title for this blog post because it says exactly what the whole thing is about.  In due time I shall read Sex Au Naturel and there shall follow a post with that title.



December 25th, 2010

CHRISTMAS 2010

Who can say the lines are not drawn? “They” are trying their best to take Christ out of Christmas (Happy Holidays, everyone!)     “They” are trying to deny our Judeo-Christian heritage and remove all mention of God from the public square and government buildings. I am heartened by this Diamond Rio recording of In God We Still Trust, and, below that, the recent occurrence of flash presentations of great music in public places. Could there be a better choice for public praise than the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah?

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!


Here is a quick overview of religious intolerance here and abroad.

December 24th, 2010

CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS – WHY?

THIS VIDEO IS SO GOOD! There is a movement afoot to shut down crisis pregnancy centers in New York City with Bill 371. Chris Slattery explains here how Expectant Mother Care gives women a REAL choice with life-affirming counseling and material help.

The NYC City Council Intro Bill #371-2010 is an outrage, which targets PRC’s (Pregnancy Resource Centers) with onerous, one-sided, unconstitutional speech regulations, and whopping, cruel and unusually harsh penalties.

These centers primarily provide free options counseling, clothing and material support, and in many cases free ultrasound and prenatal care, which no abortion facility in New York City provides.

This proposed bill would force the centers to advertise on their doors, waiting room walls, and advertisements, to state that they do not perform abortions or provide referrals, distribute FDA-approved contraceptives or provide referrals, and post when a physician is not in house.

The penalties for failure to comply include being shut down for five days after three violations, stiff fines, and JAIL FOR UP TO SIX MONTHS for those who do not comply with the shut-down order.



An inside look at the work of Expectant Mother Care in New York City. No government money is poured into this kind of free service with unpaid volunteers such as goes to Planned Parenthood and its money-making business of killing the unborn, destroying hope as it destroys the next generation.

December 24th, 2010

CHRISTMAS WHIMSY

It is 2010 and different people come to Christmas from different viewpoints. Here are two “out of the box” looks at Christmas-time. First, suppose Jesus arrived in the Facebook era –

Here is a unique (concentrated) look at Christmas with Johnny and Chachi –



MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

December 19th, 2010

SENIOR WIT

A Florida senior citizen drove his brand-new Corvette convertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.

“Amazing,” he thought as he flew down I-75, pushing the pedal even more. Looking in his rear view mirror, He saw a Florida State Trooper, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120.

Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m too old for this!” And pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.

Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his vehicle and walked up to the Corvette.  He looked at his watch, then said, “Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding–A reason I’ve never before heard–I’ll let you go.”

The old gentleman paused then said:     “Three years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were……bringing her back.”

“Have a good day, Sir,” replied the trooper.

December 17th, 2010

LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE?

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat..
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
(Unless it’s a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative reads this, he’ll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he’s “offended”.

Well, I copied it for you!

December 16th, 2010

VULNERABLE

Cowards die many times before their deaths;  the valiant never taste of death but once.
—- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Surely it must be better to die just once than to die many times (or a thousand times, as the quote is sometimes  rendered) before one’s death.  But I have learned that I am vulnerable, and that leaves me open to many premature deaths.  Some years ago I woke up feeling all happy and perky and driving home from church, rounding a corner, ran into a little girl who wanted to cross the street.  OK, so she wasn’t looking, and I was going slowly, and she wasn’t hurt at all.   But all day it kept running through my mind, “This morning I hit a little girl with my car!”  It could have been so much worse.  She could have been killed.  I could have been sued.  My life as I knew it could have been over.   I had found out I was vulnerable.  And that one never knows what the next day might bring.

Ten days ago I fell off the bottom step of St. Francis Church in Mount Kisco onto my face.  The force of the impact of my face onto the sidewalk was such that I thought surely my cheekbone had been shattered.  I suffered abrasions of my right hand, left knee, and a cracked rib as well.  As the day wore on the face hurt less and the rib hurt more.  As the week wore on I developed a beaut of a black eye and had some sleep-deprived nights because of the pain of turning over in bed.  At this point my face has almost reverted to its normal color and the rib is allowing me to sleep quite well.

Two outcomes:   First, I am  so very grateful that I did not land with that much force on my nose which would have resulted in a bloody mess and probably nose-rearrangement surgery. And, second, I have developed a “sidewalk phobia.”   What to do?  Sidewalks are all over the place!   When one’s face has been so intimate with a sidewalk it is not an experience one wants to repeat.

Sooner or later we all find out that we are vulnerable.   Something could fall from the sky onto you.  An ill wind could blow you over.  Your loved ones could have a terrible accident.  There are wars and rumors of wars.  Some people don’t seem to think that love is the answer.  It is dangerous out there.

It would be easy to live scared and die a thousand deaths.  How can I cope with my sidewalk phobia?  Well, I tell myself that I am not an accident resulting from the chance coming together of billions of atoms.  Mankind with all his science and technology has not been able to make a single living cell and yet here I am, a marvelous being whose DNA contains encyclopedias of information.  Happenstance?   I don’t think so.   I believe I am fearfully and wonderfully made by SOMEONE with an intelligence beyond imagination and that I am made for a reason.   I think this someone has gone out of his way to show his creatures that he loves them, sending myriads of messages in many, many ways. In fact, I once, personally, heard a voice from out of the blue  which said to me, “My people, I love you. Do not be afraid.”

My penny says:  ” In God We Trust.”     Me, too.

~~~


And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

December 16th, 2010

DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL

Tony Perkins, in WASHINGTON UPDATE, December 15, 2010, writes:

Anyone who’s trying to pick a fight with the Marines over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should have to answer this question, which Gen. James Amos turned on a hostile reporter yesterday: “Have you been out with the Marines in an intense firefight, you personally?” The President certainly hasn’t. Nor has his Secretary of Defense. “I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction,” the Commandant warned yesterday. “I don’t want to have any Marines that I’m visiting at Bethesda [ Naval Medical Center ] with no legs be the result of any type of distraction… Right now is a very intense period of time for a pretty healthy slice of the United States Marine Corps. This is not training. This is what I call the real deal. And the forces that wear this uniform… came back and told their commandant of the Marine Corps that they have concerns. That’s all I need. I don’t need a staff study. I don’t need to hire three PhDs to tell me [how] to interpret it… [I]f they have concerns, I do too. It’s as simple as that.” In the end, Gen. Amos is going do what’s in the best interest of his Marines and the security of America . If Congress wasn’t going to take his concerns seriously, why put him in the position in the first place? “When your life hangs on the line,” he told the press, “Mistakes… or distractions cost Marines’ lives.”

This isn’t just hyperbole. In his Senate testimony last March, Gen. John Sheehan (USMC-Ret.), Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, told a shocking story of how one gay soldier almost took out an entire combat patrol (page 16 of the congressional record). “Homosexual marines create problems on the battlefield… [In the] early years of Vietnam, 9th Marines, West of Da Nang, rifle company on a ridgeline combat outpost, the intelligence was that the North Vietnamese were going to attack, that night. The unit was put on 50-percent alert, which meant one slept, one stood on watch. About 1 o’clock in the morning, a fight broke out in a foxhole because the young marine was being molested by his squad leader. To the right of that foxhole, there was a machinegun section that opened [fire] and almost killed a combat patrol that was out in the front [because they thought the unit was under attack].”

That happened under a strict military ban. How many brave men and women are liberals willing to sacrifice so that homosexuals can flaunt their lifestyle? The only reason for changing the present policy is if it would help the military accomplish its mission. So far, no one has produced a single reason how it would. Until then, the Senate has to ask itself: Do they want the blood of innocent soldiers on their hands just to appease the political base of Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)? If they can live with that, then they’re unlike any human beings I’ve ever met.

The House today approved a repeal of a ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military by a vote of 250 to 175. The bill now goes back to the Senate as a “privileged bill” which means it can be pulled up immediately for a vote.

December 11th, 2010

TIME TO RETIRE

Time to Retire

I guess.

December 7th, 2010

“I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION”

In 1858 a young girl in Lourdes, France, had a vision of a beautiful lady, dressed in white, with a blue sash and yellow roses at her feet, in a grotto near her home.  The girl’s  name was Bernadette and she was to see the lady eighteen times in all.   The lady told Bernadette to ask the parish  priest to build a chapel there but the priest said Bernadette needed to ask the lady’s name.   The lady’s reply?  I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION!!!!

An awesome reply.   A stroke of genius!  Bernadette had no idea what it meant.  But it was a clincher.

The lady was thereby identified as Mary, the mother of Jesus, daughter of Anne and Joachim, who was conceived without stain of original sin  so that she might be  a holy tabernacle for the coming  Christ child.  The immaculate conception had been  defined as a dogma by the Catholic church (Pius IX) in 1854.

The lady told Bernadette she could not promise her happiness in this world, but in the next.

Is this whole story the stuff of delusion and mythology and poppycock?

There is now a beautiful chapel where there was none before.  There is a spring of water where there was none before.  Pilgrims continue to come by the thousands.  Physical healings are well documented.

Poppycock?  Investigate.  Let me know what you think.


~~~


My spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.  —  Luke 1:47-48

Hail, Mary, full of grace.  —  Luke 1:28