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| IMPORTANT!!! BREAKDOWN ON THE RECENT LESBIAN MOTHER STUDY [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/14/2010 |
I took a statistics class way back when in college. Matt recently took a statistics class as a part of his Masters Program.
In both classes from 1980's and 2010 we got the same information -
You can say/determine almost anything with statistics but you cannot 'prove' anything!
Seriously!! With the right sample of folks you can determine that aliens must exist based on this small samples rate of abductions, encounters and overall opinions. Does this "prove" aliens exist, NO!
The sample was taken only from those who - from the very onset - not only believe in the existence of aliens but whose entire lives have been based on this 'fact'.
You can say the same about the much heralded study of lesbian mothers. I not only read about the study but was sent it via another blog/chat space where it was posted with celebration and this heading:
"Okay, what do you say now all you homophobs and haters?"
I still say what I have always said, while the child may do well, have success and more - the inherent lifestyle is disordered and therefore, despite outward success markers there will be inward struggles.
But - even without that - the study has been 'studied' and is not without critics who may even support the gay lifestyle.
If this is concern to you and/or impacts your own life due to siblings or family members who want to throw this study in your face -
http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/7389/ |
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| IF YOU SAW SOMEONE ATTEMPTING SUICIDE WHAT WOULD YOU DO? [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/14/2010 |
This man - when he can - tries to save them! Wow!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37670329/ns/world_news/
The column begins:
SYDNEY - In those bleak moments when the lost souls stood atop the cliff, wondering whether to jump, the sound of the wind and the waves was broken by a soft voice. "Why don't you come and have a cup of tea?" the stranger would ask. And when they turned to him, his smile was often their salvation.
For almost 50 years, Don Ritchie has lived across the street from Australia's most notorious suicide spot, a rocky cliff at the entrance to Sydney Harbour called The Gap. And in that time, the man widely regarded as a guardian angel has shepherded countless people away from the edge.
WOW! |
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| ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR THE "DIDN'T KNOW I WAS PREGNANT" BOOK [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/14/2010 |
A reader sent this story:
"I have a friend who was very thin and thus had erratic periods. She was newly married and skiing. She fell and, although she wasn't seriously hurt, said her stomach "didn't feel right."
She went down to the clinic at the lodge and had the medic check her, including her abdomen. He said "Don't worry miss. You are fine and so is the baby." She was too embarassed to let him know that she had not known she was pregnant. She later figured out that she was at 4 months (not quite the same as ready to give birth)."
I love it - I would have loved to been able to see her face as she received the news. She must have been so happy but also so stunned! How do you keep it together enough and NOT let the guy know, you didn't know!!! :-) |
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| HERE'S THOSE DARN STATISTICS AT WORK AGAIN! [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/14/2010 |
Over at Newsweek, there is an article called:
The Case Against Marriage by Jessica Burnett and Jesse Ellison (yes, it took two to write an article speaking out against something that also takes two - ironic??).
Here's that article: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/11/i-don-t.html
It is a decent piece wherein the authors are honest enough to say that they may be eating their own words in a few years 'if marriage should happen' for them.
The article also includes the typical spouting of those darn statistics. They will remind you of the obvious - 1/2 of all marriages end in divorce and even the staggering 60% of all people will have sex with someone other than their spouse during their marriage (no idea where they got that one, they don't tell us!).
But the one that caught my eye (and ire) is this one:
"Like a fifth of young Americans, we identify (ourselves) as secular." They then use this statistic to support the reality of out-of-wedlock birth, same-sex marriage and also premarital sex. In other words - everything that we would see as a possibly (probably) sinful.
But - take at look at statement and statistic carefully - 1/5 of Americans consider themselves secular. This then means 4/5 of Americans DO NOT!!!
1/5 of 100 is 20 people. 4/5 of 100 is 80!!! Therefore - we can then assume that there are many more people who do not consider themselves secular. However, that reality doesn't support their position and/or theory so they are relying on your inability or refusal to look at the statistic critically.
The next time you hear a statistic that strikes you as against the Church's teachings and/or even against common sense be wary. Look at what the statistic is really saying. For example, if 50% of all marriages fail, it also means 50% of all marriages succeed!! But why support those that do succeed - some against horrible odds (such as my own) - when that isn't as much fun as talking doom.
Statistics are funny things. Be critical as you read them and use them. You may discover that they really don't support your opinion as you think they will.
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| LOVED OMAHA [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/14/2010 |
I am back from Omaha where I had a wonderful time - seriously. The good people of Nebraska were just so good - kind, funny and so generous with their time and energy.
The homeschooling conference was small but excellent and I enjoyed meeting so many really nice people including our own Michael (he was wearing a Cabela hat, he's either an outdoor guy or likes to pretend he is!).
I am grateful I had a chance to speak and hope to return. May they all have a wonderful summer (and life) full of joy! |
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| JACK KEVORKIAN WISHES HE HAD NEVER BEEN BORN [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/15/2010 |
so do all those he murdered.
This link just proves how ill this man is but to what degree his mental incapacity impacts on what he has done will be up to God.
I took interest in him when I read that one of the people he 'assisted' in death had multiple sclerosis. "My" disease.
Not Lou Gehring's disease which will surely take your life but MS which while its impact may truly be severe it is not life-threatening. Life changing- yes! Life threatening - no!
His statement about regretting his own existence does much to explain his eager need to see others end theirs.
Forgive my callousness but I have wondered why he has never actually taken his own life - he states that we are 'all terminal' so why continue on with a life that he finds so awful?
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/14/kevorkian.gupta/index.html |
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| STATISTICS - AGAIN [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/15/2010 |
From loyal reader Matt W. comes this absolutely perfectly accurate and funny nugget:
"torture the numbers enough and you can make them confess to anything."
So sad, yet so true!! Remember that the next time you read an article - from anyone - that uses statistics to make their case. |
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| ANY OF US WITH HUSBANDS AND BABIES KNOWS THIS TO BE TRUE [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/15/2010 |
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-06-15-daddybrain15_cv_N.htm
Dad's go through hormone changes during pregnancy just as the moms do.
Does this then explain their weight gain as well??? :-) |
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| IVF DEBATE - AGE OF THE MOTHER [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/15/2010 |
It is becoming clear that another issue in the moral implications of IVF is the doctors who seem incapable of saying 'No!'.
From Octo-mom to the mom of twins from Spain
-From CNN: Maria del Carmen Bousada gave birth in December 2006 in Barcelona, after receiving in vitro fertilization treatment in California. At the time of the birth, she was believed to have been the world's oldest new mother (then 66). She died in July, 2009
Now, over at www.ncregister.com Matt Archbold is highlighting that the 'newest' oldest mom is dying as a result of giving birth via IVF
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/worlds_oldest_ivf_mother_is_dying
The woman is 70. Yes, 70!!
Fertility doctors are, apparently, incapable of saying No to anyone or any procedure. If they can do it, they will do it with little thought to the mothers and/or the children that will be arriving.
I can understand these women's urge to have a baby. As someone who is watching their own fertility fade in the rearview mirror of their lives, I KNOW, I really KNOW how much the desire for a baby can be consuming. However, rational thought - without the clanging of the biological clock or the rushing of the hormones - must prevail.
I am not one who wants to legislate everything and anything as I do believe firmly in personal freedom. However, I also know that we are sinful people and, at times, we need some help in establishing boundaries.
I think that the arrival of natural menopause should be a good indicator that having a baby is not a good idea.
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| I HAVE BEEN QUIET ABOUT KATE AND HER 8 [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/16/2010 |
but can hold it in no longer. If there was any way I could legally and morally sue for custody of the kids I would after this tidbit:
“Kate’s working on a deal to do a new reality dating series on ABC,” according to an insider who spoke to Life & Style. The magazine reports that Gosselin would “likely be starring in her own series, possibly matching her with single dads.”
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37718796/ns/today-entertainment/
Eww, and triple ewww. Now the article goes on to say that it a mere rumor as she is still under contract with TLC. But still, that she even allows such a rumor to go around without squashing it herself - firmly and completely - is part of my problem with her.
Fame seems to be her god and her children are forced to go along for the ride - no matter where it takes them and no matter what damage might be done. |
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| HOW COME WE CANNOT SILENCE THOSE WHO CRITICIZE OUR FAITH? [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/16/2010 |
I have always wondered why the Neo Atheists cannot be silenced by gently reminding them that they cannot prove that God does not exist. If science is all that powerful, all that perfect then why can they prove what they say - God does not exist. Not one of them can prove it they just spout off about all the evil in the world as if it is His fault.
His fault? So evil exists because of a nasty God but this nasty God isn't supposed to even exist, so therefore all the evil is due to people. People are the cause of all the evil in the world which then proves that God is not evil just people who sometimes want to deny their own responsibility in what they choose to do and blame Him.
Okay - I'm not great at logic but I think you get my point.
Stephen Hawkings seems to be dancing around some of these issues. He's pulling a Galileo - putting his science where it just doesn't belong.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/stephen_hawking_is_a_brilliant_physicist |
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| THIS IS JUST TOO GOOD FOR A BORDERLINE CONSPIRACY THEORIST LIKE MYSELF! [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/16/2010 |
"Zecharia Sitchin says he's willing to stake everything he's written about alien astronauts on DNA tests that could be performed on the 4,500-year-old remains of a high-ranking Sumerian woman."
How cool would that be? Seriously! They have been telling us for years that the pyramids - both in S. America and the Middle East - were built by aliens. Well, where are those same aliens now? Isn't it logical that at least one of them died here and remained?
I say we check every single ancient body we find for DNA and see if somewhere an alien doesn't show up.
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| HERE'S THE LINK ON THE ALIENS [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/16/2010 |
Give it a read, it is a hoot. We even get mention of DNA tinkering, Adam and Eve and biblical writings!!
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/06/14/4508251-looking-for-alien-dna
Enjoy! |
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| WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE RESULT OF A 'NO BABIES' WORLD [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/16/2010 |
France is raising its retirement age from 60 to 62.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37725507/ns/world_news-europe/
"Eric Woerth called the measure — already strongly opposed by the opposition Socialist Party and labor unions — a "real moral obligation," given France's burgeoning deficit and its aging population, which he said threatens the viability of the money-losing pension system."
A moral obligation? Is this the same moral obligation they pushed on folks not to have even a 'slightly larger' family. I am not saying that everyone is called to be supersized like me but how many French families felt pressured or even forced to have just one or two children.
Sustainable, healthy replacement of any population is 2.3 and France is teetering around negative numbers.
This is just the start.... |
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| BREAST FEEDING IS OUR THEME TODAY (APPARENTLY) [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/17/2010 |
Story #1:
The rise of 'milk banks':
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/16/others-milk.html
I have heard about milk banks before and was actually called at one point by an acquaintance looking for breastmilk for an adoptive baby. Between babies myself at that time, sadly, I was not able to help.
I do not think there is anything morally wrong with this but perhaps there is.... |
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| A COMMENT ON OUR 'DEMAND' FOR EVERYTHING [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/17/2010 |
This comment from a reader came after I posted about the death of aged mothers who used IVF.
Here comes another aspect of 'demanding' all things without making any concessions (even to Mother Nature):
From a LLL leader/HMS reader comes this very interesting perspective:
I've been wrangling over the same sort of issue in LLL. It's the issue of "You shouldn't have to part with Anything in order to breastfeed". Just as some women want to have children no matter what their personal circumstances re: age, marriage, health, heck even gender...there are also women who believe that I, as an LLL leader, should help them to breastfeed AND be in the military, work 60 hours a week, cover their bodies in tatoos and piercings, get divorced, go out and drink, etc. No one wants to close any doors, or admit that there's a time and season for everything in life.
Wow, I had never thought of these issues. We are a stubborn people, aren't we?? |
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| DECIDE FOR YOURSELF WETHER TO READ FURTHER [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/17/2010 |
"Southwest is now working to educate the parties involved in the shipment of the heads on proper protocol for body-part shipments, McInnish said."
Here's the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37754426/ns/us_news-life/
I am not sure of the fine line we have as Catholics to honor the dead and medical research.
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| EVER LOSE A RING? [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/18/2010 |
Both Matt and I lost our original wedding bands (the cheapest ones we could get) years ago.
Mine was lost during a visit to Ocean City, MD. It was fitting tight due to a pregnancy and I slipped it into my shorts. Upon coming home I discovered it was gone.
Matt lost his during a work shift at TGIFriday's. He is thinking it was the coleslaw.
We have since replaced them with even 'cheaper' rings but ones we love. I have no thought ever of recovering those rings but some folks lose rings and find them in unusual ways. Here's a few:
Class ring recovered from a quarry.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37777464/ns/us_news-wonderful_world/
Fire Chief loses wedding band at fire.
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12001450941655/
Are any of us surprised that there are websites for such things??
Including one by Jostens the 'biggest' class ring supplier in the country.
www.lostmyring.com
www.classringfinder.com
www.jostens.com
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| MOVIES WITH A GOOD DAD [Rachel Watkins] |
| 6/18/2010 |
Over at the Catholic World Reporter, Steven G. does a good job on writing about father figures in film.
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:hollywoods-treatment-of-fathers&catid=37:exclusive&Itemid=54
This an area of interest to my own dh, Matt. He has a number of movies that are favorites of ours that show the importance of fathers, how the lack of one might impact on a child and even on how being a father impacts on a man.
In no particular order here are some of our favorite "Father's Day" movies:
Some are expected:
-Father of the Bride (Spencer Tracy version over the Steve Martin one).
-To Kill a Mockingbird
-The Incredibles
-Spy Kids (only the first one)
-Finding Nemo
Some might not be (and are for adults only):
-About a Boy (w/ Hugh Grant) - here's a story about a boy who desperately needs a father and the man reluctant to stand in
-Family Man - a man (Nicolas Cage) who doesn't realize all he is missing a la It's a Wonderful Life
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