To space and beyond!

OMGosh! Have you heard of this?

Mankind must abandon earth or face extinction!

LONDON—Mankind's only chance of long-term survival lies in colonizing space, as humans drain Earth of resources and face a terrifying array of new threats, warned British scientist Stephen Hawking on Monday…

"Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill."…

If we want to survive beyond the next century, "our future is in space," added the scientist.

"That is why I'm in favor of manned, or should I say 'personed', space flight."…
/
Shiver me timbers! The stuff of Michael Crichton sci-fi novels now approaches reality. Only this time, the doomsday scenario is predicted by a real McCoy – renowned British scientist Stephen Hawking who predicts the dire future even while not forgetting to be politically correct: "personed" space flight?. At least we’re sure it won’t be a monkey piloting the spacecraft of the future, but who knows? At the rate the secular world has been redefining the biological and fundamental norms of society, we really can’t be sure what a "person" would mean in the future, can we.

At any rate, we are given one century to conquer space because we are steadily burning out ourselves and the earth! The "terrifying array of threats" will slowly but surely snuff life as we know it on earth. In the next few decades, the population will continue to grow but will peak out by the year 2100. This development will finally make the doomsday Malthusians happy (yes, they’re still around) , but not for long. Many big companies like Toys-R-Us would be wiped out of the economy. So will an entire gamut of industries catering to kids like infant formula, disposable diapers, MacDonalds Kiddie meals, and the like. No wonder because at this time, there are almost no kids around, and the average worldwide age would be at about 55 years of age. Meanwhile, the worldwide shortage of goods makes its dire presence felt, starting with the scarcity of commodities like adult diapers, rheumatism medication, hearing aids, and false teeth adhesives. From its peak in 2100, the world population now goes on a rapid plunge, owing further to science’s utter failure to discover how to make same-sex unions (hugely popular at this time) produce natural offspring. Like Hawkins predicted, mankind (or is it personkind?) will at this time find the frustrating limits of its technical ability to change the environment (along with its failure to change the nature of humans, of course). Meanwhile, Singapore is still at it. The country is now offering 10 billion dollars to each couple for every child they bring into the world. It is probably a tad late anyway, because Singapore at this time will have a country population of exactly 1,003 people – 90% of whom are senior citizens.

But wait! At this time, a heretofore small and insignificant country in the Far East, the Philippines, has emerged as the new world superpower! While the rest of the world has been grappling with its myriad problems, the Philippines has quickly made giant strides in super-technology, while maintaining its population at a healthy, replacement rate. Its emergence as a world power can be traced to its bucking the trend of an ultra-liberal, disastrous "postmodernism" with the heroic efforts of an innovative, value-oriented, and incorruptible populace starting in the year 2016. Unlike the rest of the world, this country has shunned contraceptive mentality and concentrated in tapping the productivity of its best resource – its people. Also in large part due to the migration of Filipinos around the world, key leadership positions were cornered by the best and brightest Filipinos in their various countries of residencies. The best scientists of the world, now young Filipinos, were able to solve the fuel and food problems of the whole world! Thanks to the ingenuity of these scientists, one grain of palay can now grow into 100 sacks of rice. A single super-solar cell can now light the whole of Metro Manila. Global warming has finally been conquered. It is now the year 2110, and there is no more need to conquer outer space!!! Stephen Hawking was right about the problems of the world, but he grossly underestimated the resilience and ingenuity of these hardy people from a small country in the Far East.

Meanwhile in local politics, Congressman Edcel Lagman XXVI, Jr., has refiled the controversial RH-bill on the very first day of the opening of the 214th session of Congress, in the year 2110. Reminded that this is the RH bill's 204th try for approval, Lagman XXVI, Jr, replied: "We'll have it passed into law this time around. We have the numbers. If not, we will have it passed on the moon".
/

Dante's inferno in the year 2102

As Dante arrived home he felt very tired, and hungry as his dog Scruffy welcomes him home with playful yelps.  He had been toiling fourteen hours on two jobs day after day and it was as exhausting as it can get, as far as he can remember.  It was already way past 11pm and he decides to reheat a quick dinner from the fridge. As he opened the fridge he found out that there was only one frozen dinner left.  He sighed and took only half of it, knowing that his beloved partner would arrive a bit later and would be hungry for food too.  He strokes his dog Scruffy and throws him a morsel from his dinner.

Things are getting tighter and tighter for Dante,  as it has always been as far as he can remember. Taxes are getting higher each time, even as wages are going down assuming one gets lucky enough to find a job. He and his partner did not have children, yet they had to support  four elderly people in the house: his own parents and that of his partner.  He resents the fact they had no choice but to support their elderly parents but he knew there was no other way. He, like his partner was sole offspring, and besides the state required them to support their parents under the force of the law. The state had long ago given up on public institutions for the elderly, doling out only paltry monthly pensions for them that was hardly enough even for their food alone. Anyway, he knew that their household arrangement was typical. It is after all in the year 2102, just into the twenty-secondth century and indeed much has changed over the past hundred years.

Over the last half-century, major companies and even cities have declared bankruptcy. He remembered his grandfather say they used to live prosperously in Detroit many years ago, and they left due to the city declaring bankruptcy after a long hemorrhage. Then one city came after another, and after another. The government had no more resources to bail them all out, being in dire financial straits itself. Many businesses have shrunk along with the population, and recent reports declared that the median age for his aging country was 46 yearsof age, a stark reality that was the result of  disastrous population policy along with government's heavy push for contraceptives and abortion over the last hundred years or so. He suddenly remembered it was so long since he had seen couples pushing baby carriages  around the malls. Nowadays his typical sight was of elderly people moving around in canes or motorized wheelchairs, and it was the younger breed who were assisting them around.

As he took the last  bite of his dinner, Dante wondered what the world looked like a hundred years ago. Were there many happy families strolling around in the parks and malls with their children? Did people manage on single jobs alone? Was it easier to find a decent job for a double-Masters degree holder like him? As he pondered these thoughts his domestic partner, Marko arrives. He had a dejected look on his face. What happened? asks Dante as he plants a kiss on Marko's lips.  Got laid off again, replies Marko curtly, and goes straight to rest in the bedroom which he shares with everyone. Marko looks even more tired than he was, he did not even eat the half-dinner I left over for him, rues Dante.

This situation is getting unbearable, Dante decides. Now I have to support five people. Marko is certainly getting to be a tough burden around, and he decides it was time to divorce him. That would rid him of three people off his back. It would be his sixth divorce in as many years, but he would take a half-day off tomorrow to get the paperwork done over with.  As he pats his playful dog Scruffy, it dawns on him that it might be a better arrangement for him to marry his dog, and a lot less expensive too. It would even be more practical and makes a lot more sense than marrying a bridge, for example. After all, he loves the dog - that is all that matters for the government to legally recognize the marriage - while the paperwork it will require will not be much of a problem. Sigh, too many problems he concludes…and then falls asleep on the couch beside his dog, away from the heavy snores of the five people in the shared bedroom.

“What do you mean by that word, ‘choice’”?

LINK

More on NFP-BOM

From an upskill NFP-Billings Ovulation Method seminar I attended last Sunday, some bullet points:

Correlating the signs and symptoms of fertility

-new CYCLE commences
-HYPOTHALAMUS produces GnRH, tells PITUITARY to produce FSH
-reaching THRESHOLD for a few of the most sensitive FOLLICLES
-these follicles begin their RAPID GROWTH PHASE
-OESTROGEN is produced
-FSH rises to INTERMEDIATE level, follicles continue rapidly growing
-rising oestrogen levels stimulate growth of ENDOMETRIUM (proliferative phase)
-and CERVIX responds (produces mucus)
-36 hours after beginning of LH surge,
-17 hours after LH peak,
-rupture of follicle,
-OVULATION occurs
-ruptured follicle is transformed into the CORPUS LUTEUM
-if fertilisation has not occurred, corpus luteum REGRESSES after 6-7 days
-OESTROGEN and PROGESTERONE levels fall
-suppression of FSH and LH lifted
-MENSTRUATION commences 11-16 days after ovulation


Some more highlights:

-When a young woman is on the pill, her OESTROGEN and PROGESTERONE are flat all
throughout, similar to imposing a menopause on her young body. That is why she is prone to depression, among other things.

-The ovulatory cycle is an intricate system, all occurrences affect other factors in the
body in an amazing complexity of nature-driven cause-and-effect. Thus if you disrupt the
system, you naturally wreak havoc on the body in ways you cannot imagine - besides cancer.

-Q: At what age does a woman produce the healthiest egg?
-A: At around 16 years of age. Interestingly, the NFP expert said that marrying at a young
age for the woman is customary in the olden times. She is married to a man that is considerably older than she is, so the element of financial and moral support is addressed. It is only in modern times that couples tend to marry at a later age due to economic reasons. Nowadays marrying couples also choose a partner within their age range.

-Q: What about the other NFP methods (SDM, Two-Days, BBT)
-A: SDM relies on beads which are NOT part of the woman's body. SDM also considers all
pre-ovulatory days as fertile days. Two-Days method is not compatible with what NFP-BOM
teaches in fertility monitoring, and in fact contradict the concepts. BBT is the only method compatible with BOM, but one needs an accurate digital thermometer which may not be available everytime.

-Some terms equivalence:

-GnRH = Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone
-FSH = Follicle Stimulating Hormone
-LH = luteinizing hormone
-SDM = Standard Days Method
-BBT = Basal Body Temperature
-MP = Manny Pacquiao. Good that the seminar already ended at 1pm, I was still able to catch the telecast at home.

related post
somewhat related post
another somewhat related post

Senators argue inconclusively over when and where life begins

Senators argue inconclusively over when and where life begins

At least the tone has been set in the first session of the Senate interpellation on the RH bill. Senators Sotto, Enrile, Recto amd even Senator Lacson emphasized the primary importance of determining when life begins as a crucial point in the deliberation of the bill. Needless to say, the fate of the RH bill in the Senate rests on whether life begins at fertilization or implantation, to be in consonance with Article 2 Sec 12 of the Constitution.

Is the intent of the Constitutional provision already established at fertilization or was the intent left for legislative construction?

Whoever pounds on this issue to its conclusion seals the fate of the bill as well. All other issues are tangential, but pointing out the redundancy of the bill ices the cake.

Senator Sotto is doing it right. Thank you sir.

Here is a list of my related posts on when life begins:

WHEN DOES LIFE BEGIN?
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/09/when-does-life-begin.html
Angsioco vs unborn
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/angsioco-versus-unborn.html
A response to the latest salvo of Fr Bernas (again)
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/response-to-latest-salvo-of-fr-bernas.html
Two interpretations of: "The State shall protect the life of the unborn from conception"
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2011/05/two-interpretations-of-state-shall.html
'When life begins' and the RH Bill
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2011/03/when-life-begins-and-rh-bill.html
Lagman grasping at straws
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2011/01/lagman-grasping-at-straws.html
WHEN DOES LIFE BEGIN (2)
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/11/when-does-life-begin-2.html
Why pills, injectables, IUDs are abortifacient
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-pills-injectables-iuds-are.html
Leaping mass of tissue
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/07/leaping-mass-of-tissue.html
POSTINOR BAN (2001)
http://randomthoughtsmusings.blogspot.com/2010/07/postinor-ban-2001.html
/

Requiescat in pace: MANNY AMADOR

Information Technology pioneer. Writer. Musician. Motorbike enthusiast. Staunch Prolifer. Catholic blogger. A colleague in Filipinos For Life. A humble servant of God.

MANNY AMADOR.

Requiescat in pace.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/07/22/11/pinky-amadors-brother-found-dead
http://mamador.wordpress.com/
http://katoliko.org/
http://mannyamador.multiply.com/

The future for female fertility according to the man who created the Pill

The future for female fertility according to the man who created the Pill

..his vision of the future, Professor Djerassi sees egg freezing as a fundamental tool of family planning - empowering women further...

‘It is already happening at Stanford, where I teach. Women assistant professors on a tough ten-year career path, working 60 or 80 hours a week, are freezing their eggs for later use.’

Whoah!

Women chained to a 60-80 hour workweek, for 10 or so years wherein they are not 'burdened' by pregnancy and child-rearing. Thanks to the pill!

Good thing there is a solution according to Professor Djerassi: these women can freeze their eggs for later use. Of course, the wonders of In-Vitrio Fertilization and Embryo Transfer. Meanwhile her live-in partner can enjoy sex with her all he wants, without any of the consequences and attendant responsibilities (say, a child for example).

Sooner or later, her live-in partner would likely ditch this busy and aging career woman to live-in with another partner of his choice. A younger one definitely. Now this empowered woman will most probably grow old alone.

Professor Djerassi, the father of the pill, calls this scenario: "empowering women further".

No, I think he's serious. Well maybe a tad crazy, but serious.

Check out the article [here]

Christian Anthropology versus the Sexual Revolution

"Christian Anthropology versus the Sexual Revolution" by Peter Kreeft.
-an address to the The Catholic Medical Association's 79th Annual Educational Conference, October 27-30, 2010.
(excerpts)

To see that the Sexual Revolution has been radical in thought as well as behavior, just look at the revolution in language. When people use the word "morality" today they almost always mean sexual morality. That's a remarkable new development, an astonishing narrowing; it's as if we started to use the word "state" to mean only Russia, or the word "technology" to mean only "computers". The reason for the new development is obvious from my two comparisons: sex, Russia, and computers are where there have been the most radical revolutions.
[...]
Look at abortion. No one defends killing innocent, defenceless human beings, except for sex. That is what abortion is. The whole purpose of abortion is backup birth control and the whole purpose of birth control is to have sex without babies. If storks brought babies, Planned Parenthood would go broke. Sex is the motor that drives the abortion business.

Look at divorce. Suppose there were some practice that did not involve sex that had the same three scientifically provable effects that divorce has. First, it betrayed your most solemn promise you ever made to the person you said was the most important person in your life. Second, it was child abuse, it maimed your children's psyches, it made a happy life and a happy marriage and family much, much harder for those vulnerable little people you brought into the world and who remained largely dependent on you for their future. Third, it infallibly guaranteed that your society would die, would self destruct.
[...]
The moral revolution is confined to sex. We are not allowed to steal another man's money without being put into jail, but we can steal another man's wife. You cannot betray your lawyer without being severely penalized, but you can betray your wife, and SHE is severely penalized. You cannot kill bald eagles or blue whales without being a criminal but you can kill your own children as long as you do it a second before the two blades of the scissors meet in the middle of the umbilical cord rather than a second after, or a second before the body emerges from the birth canal rather than a second after. What kind of logic is this?
[...]
What then do we need to defeat this revolution, which has brought about such immense destruction, and eventual death, to families, and eventually to society? Reason, logic, argument, science, facts, common sense, compromise, return to tradition – none of these are strong enough. What is strong enough? Only one thing. Nothing less than Jesus Christ will do.

Why? Because the heart of the error of the Sexual Revolution is the identifying of love with sex. Christ undoes this fundamental confusion by showing us – not just telling us but showing us – what love is.
[...]
No official teaching in the Church's 2000 year history, no official document, has ever been so hated, despised, ignored, and disobeyed as Humanae Vitae. What is the most unpopular teaching of the Church today? Nothing comes even close. It's the teaching of the Church about sex that is by far the main reason the world hates and fears the Church today...
[...]
And how does Jesus Christ answer that? What does Christ have to do with the Sexual Revolution and its causes and its consequences? Everything. Because Christ alone gives us intimacy with God, and that's the thing the Sexual Revolution is looking for but doesn't know it. As Chesterton said, When the adulterer knocks on the door of the brothel, he's really looking for a cathedral.

Therefore Christ alone is the answer to the Sexual Revolution. Because nobody else gives us intimacy with God.

[read the entire transcript here]

Pangangailangan ng mga Kababaihan

Authored by Prof. Aliza Racelis. Reposting with permission.

MORAL na Kamalayan

Ang isinusulong namin sa grupong ito, at sa maraming pro-life groups, ay ang mga kabutihang-asal – tulad ng pagiging TAPAT ng mag-asawa, chastity education, pagtitimpi, pagsasakripisyo, atbp.– sapagka’t ito ang pangmatagalang solusyon sa tinatawag na “unwanted pregnancies” na laging bukang-bibig ng mga pro-R.H.Bill.

Nakasaad sa isang artikulo ng Philippine Population Review:

“…women who had unintended pregnancies or births were older, not living together with a partner, had no previous birth or had a closely-spaced birth interval, had both sons and daughters, rural residents, not well educated and poor. Moreover, these women were ever-users of contraceptives, had three or more living children and whose ideal number of children was lesser than what they actually had.”

Pagmasdan ang mga kataingan ng mga may “unintended pregnancies” – gumagamit ng kontraseptibo, wala sa nararapat na kalagayan ng nakikipagtalik –may lehitimong asawa at TAPAT sa asawa at sa asawa lamang kikilos ng ganito… [Sa mga single, ang chastity ay pag-iwas sa anumang aktibidad sekswal.]

[read the rest here]

Thoughts of a troubled mother, and the reply of the unborn

Thoughts of a troubled mother, and the reply of the unborn
a poem in video by John B. Juat
FilipinosForLife

'When life begins' and the RH Bill

“...That is not to say that the scientific facts lend equal support to any and all views of when human life begins. While people are free to formulate their opinion on when human life begins in any manner they choose (including belief and politics), not all opinions are equally consistent with factual reality. Those who choose to ignore the facts cannot expect their opinions to garner as much respect or to be given as much credibility as those who base their opinions in sound scientific observation and analysis.

The opinions of members of the flat-Earth society should not carry as much weight as those of astrophysicists in formulating national aerospace policy. The opinions of those who reject the scientific evidence concerning when life begins should not be the basis of public policy on embryo-related topics, either.”

-Maureen Condic
/
I have a very strong hunch that the fate of the RH Bill will rest on this single, potent issue. It does not only concern our faith, it also concerns a state principle which is enshrined in the Constitution. We note that Lagman et. al have already staked their bets: conception is equal to implantation. Without a doubt, it is an obvious though publicly unstated admission of an incontrovertible fact: Chemical contraceptives undoubtedly inhibits implantation, and there is no wiggle room to deny it. The only recourse therefore is to redefine what conception means, however they have a formidable roadblock in that the records of the Constitutional proceedings clearly equate conception with fertilization. Bernie Villegas, the author of that specific provision has come out with the the rock-hard evidence. Fr Bernas likewise, is on record supporting those proceedings. The pro-RH bloc have painted themselves into a corner. This is a testament to the fact that you cannot suppress the truth forever- it will emerge sooner or later. We must pound on this single issue until it explodes all over their faces. The only way the pro-RH legislators can overcome this formidable obstacle is through treachery, yet we must never underestimate that too.
/
“it is when the ovum is fertilized by the sperm that there is human life. Just to repeat: first, there is obviously life because it starts to nourish itself, it starts to grow as any living being, and it is human because at the moment of fertilization, the chromosomes that combined in the fertilized ovum are the chromosomes that are uniquely found in human beings and are not found in any other living being”

(Record of the Constitutional Commission, Volume 4, p. 668).

"The intention is to protect life from its beginning, and the assumption is that human life begins at conception, that conception takes place at fertilization"

(Record of the Constitutional Commission 799, cited in Bernas, J., The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Manila: 1996 ed., p. 78)

Ask Them What They Mean By ‘Choice’ Blog Day

h/t Jill Stanek

"Mary’s Ultrasound"

Churchads.Net

Obama cherry-picks Gandhi

Obama credits Gandhi with helping him to presidency

NEW DELHI—US President Barack Obama paid fulsome tribute Monday to Mahatma Gandhi and said studying the legacy of India's independence icon had helped propel him to the White House.

In an address to the Indian parliament as he wrapped up a three-day visit, Obama described the personal impact of Gandhi's teachings of non-violence and equality on his political career.

"Throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhi and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world," he said...

Change, right. Too bad President Obama ignored the pro-life stand of Mahatma Gandhi.

"..It is an insult to the fair sex to put up her case in support of birth-control by artificial methods. As it is, man has sufficiently degraded her for his lust, and artificial methods, no matter how well meaning the advocates may be, will still further degrade her. I urge the advocates of artificial methods to consider the consequences. Any large use of the methods is likely to result in the dissolution of the marriage bond and in free love…Birth control to me is a dismal abyss..."

"No word seems to be more abused to-day than the word ‘Natural”… Indeed, if we were to put man in the same category as the brute, many things could be proved to come under the description ‘natural’. But if they belong to two different species, not everything that is natural to the brute is natural to man…Man does not live by bread alone, as the brute does. He uses his reason to worship God and to know Him, and regards the attainment of that knowledge as summum bonum of life. The brute, if he can be said to worship God, does so involuntarily. The desire to worship God is inconceivable in the brute, while man can voluntarily worship even Satan. It must, therefore, be, and is, man’s nature to know and find God. When he worships Satan, he acts contrary to his nature..."

"..The earth has not suffered from the weight of over-population through its age of countless millions. How can it be that the truth has suddenly dawned upon some people that it is in danger of perishing of shortage of food unless the birthrate is checked through the use of contraceptives?"
/

Blame it on the stupid economy

Obama blames election rout on economy

WASHINGTON—US President Barack Obama would not concede Wednesday that a Republican election rout marked a massive repudiation of his agenda, but did shoulder the blame for deep voter frustration over the economy.

Hours after Republicans captured the House of Representatives and slashed the Democratic majority in the Senate, a subdued Obama said in a White House news conference that voters were mostly preoccupied with the slow recovery.

"I think that there is no doubt that people's number one concern is the economy," Obama said. "And what they were expressing great frustration about is the fact that we haven't made enough progress on the economy."

After two years of "hope" and "change", the US economic recovery remained sluggish and unemployment is pegged at a stubborn 9.6 percent. The voter's discontent just materialized with stunning clarity.

Yes, the economy is to blame. And then of course -- someone's got to be blamed for the economy.

Don't blame it on the sunshine
Don't blame it on the moonlight
Don't blame it on the good times...

I doubt if the Obama camp is in any mood to dance.
The pro-life camp however, appears poised to rock and roll.
CatholicVote says virtually every so-called “pro-life” legislator that voted for Obamacare went down to defeat last night.

Blame it on the boogie

A lesser antidote to the culture of death: A millstone around the neck

LifesiteNews has highlighted the speech of Archbishop Burke to the Human Life International World Prayer Congress last Saturday. Abp Burke is the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura. Apart from the Pope himself, who is the supreme ecclesiastical judge, the Apostolic Signatura is the highest Church tribunal. His complete talk in PDF format maybe downloaded here. The message bears emphasizing today to all the countries around the world with prominent 'Catholic' politicians, although at first glance I had the impression that it was specifically addressed to the Philippines. Here are some excerpts (emphasis mine).

CATHOLIC ORTHODOXY: ANTIDOTE AGAINST THE CULTURE OF DEATH

...Often the lack of obedience to the Magisterium is not total but selective. Our culture teaches us to believe what is convenient and to reject what is difficult for us or challenges us. Thus, we can easily fall into “cafeteria Catholicism,” a practice of the faith, which picks and chooses what part of the deposit of faith to believe and practice. A most tragic example of the lack of obedience of faith, also on the part of certain Bishops, was the response of many to the Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI, published on July 25, 1968.

The confusion which resulted has led many Catholics into habits of sin in what pertains to the procreation and education of human life...

[The sponsors of the RH bill are a paramount examples, wherein these self-professed Catholics dismiss Humanae Vitae as 'not infallible' and may be conveniently disregarded. The rationale goes typically like this: Contraceptives should be allowed in a poverty-stricken, overpopulated country, doesn't the Church care for the poor? Ahem. I will translate their euphemistic words for all it’s worth: Humanae Vitae is erroneus, and what their conscience tells them is morally superior to the teachings therein by Pope Paul VI, and Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI, and so on, and so on.]

Regarding the Magisterium and public life, there has developed in many places the false notion that the Christian or any person of faith, in order to be a true citizen of his nation, must bracket his faith life from his public life. According to such a notion, one ends up with Christians, for example, who claim personally to be faithful members of the Church and, therefore, to hold to the demands of the natural moral law, while they sustain and support the right to violate the moral law in its most fundamental tenets. We find self-professed Catholics, for example, who sustain and support the right of a woman to procure the death of the infant in her womb, or the right of two persons of the same sex to the recognition which gives to a man and a woman who have entered into marriage. It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself publicly in this manner...

[This has many translations and flavors: Not all Filipinos are Catholics; I am first and foremost a public servant, I will just check-in my conscience at the door; Jesus did not judge, who are we to judge. And the hands-down, all-time favorite: Separation of Church and State!!! The latter is especially invoked when one’s personal opinion does not square with 2000++ years of solid Church teaching.]

...When a person has publicly espoused and cooperated in gravely sinful acts, leading many into confusion and error about fundamental questions of respect for human life and the integrity of marriage and the family, his repentance of such actions must also be public. The person in question bears a heavy responsibility for the grave scandal which he has caused. The responsibility is especially heavy for political leaders. The repair of such scandal begins with the public acknowledgment of his own error and the public declaration of his adherence to the moral law. The soul which recognizes the gravity of what he has done will, in fact, understand immediately the need to make public reparation...

[Yes, yes -- public repentance is required. Whenever the sin is publicly espoused as to account for massive scandal, It is only appropriate that repentance must also be public, otherwise, one has to face Pope Benedict XVI’s minimum proper prescription. Besides there is also Canon law 1364#1, and Canon 1399 which calls for just penalties (yes, including excommunication).

If a politician thinks denial of Communion or excommunication is a tad harsh, wait till he or she reads Luke 17:1-2]

"Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if amillstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin."

DEBUNKING THE OVERPOPULATION MYTH

3 ONLINE BOOKS AND 22 ARTICLES
DEBUNKING THE OVERPOPULATION MYTH:

(ALSO, SASSONE'S "HANDBOOK ON POPULATION" CLASSIC
AGAINST POPULATION CONTROL INCLUDED AS WORD FILE ATTACHMENT)


1. THE POPULATION IMPLOSION.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0029.html

2. THE POPULATION DUD.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0035.html

3. THE GLOBAL BABY BUST.

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0044.htm

4. THE ULTIMATE RESOURCE 2: PEOPLE, MATERIALS AND ENVIRONMENT.

http://www.juliansimon.com/writings/Ultimate_Resource/

5. POWER AND POPULATION IN ASIA

http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/6298

6. DRUNKEN NATION: RUSSIA'S DEPOPULATION BOMB.

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/articles/2009-Spring/full-Eberstadt.html

7. RUSSIA'S GREAT LEAP DOWNWARDS.

http://www.securityaffairs.org/issues/2009/17/eberstadt&shah.php

8. WORLD POPULATION COLLAPSE: LESSONS FOR THE PHILIPPINES.

http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/gas/gas_01populationcollapse.html

9. OVERPOPULATION?

http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/kas/kas_01overpopulation.html

10. THE KISSINGER REPORT- 2004 A RETROSPECTIVE ON NSSM 200.

http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/clo/Kissinger_Report_2004.pdf

11. TOO MANY PEOPLE?

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0001.html

12. TOO MANY PEOPLE? NOT BY A LONG SHOT.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0012.html

13. THE BOMB THAT FIZZLED.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0013.html

14. THE BARRENNESS OF SUCCESS.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0026.html

15. THE POPULATION BOMB THAT FIZZLED.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0028.html

16. OUR VANISHING ULTIMATE RESOURCE.

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0046.htm

17. ECOLOGY AND POPULATION.

PART 1: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/vale/vale_03ecology1.html
PART 2: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/vale/vale_03ecology2.html

18. PHILIPPINES' PRO-LIFE OPTION VINDICATED.

http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/vale/vale_06rpdemographics.html

19. A NEW PARADIGM FOR DEMOGRAPHY.

http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/vale/vale_09newparadigm.html

20. WHERE HAVE ALL THE CHILDREN GONE?

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/population/pc0039.html

21. FOUR SURPRISES IN GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

http://www.actualidadeconomica-peru.com/anteriores/ae_2004/octubre/art_oct_07.pdf

22. SCARCITY OR ABUNDANCE? A DEBATE ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

http://www.juliansimon.com/writings/Norton/

23. IT'S (PAST) TIME TO END POPULATION CONTROL.

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=3123&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=662520

24. OUR DEMOGRAPHIC WINTER....40 YEARS AFTER HUMANAE VITAE.

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=8298&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=662520

25. EXCERPTS FROM STEVEN MOSHER'S LATEST BOOK AGAINST POPULATION CONTROL (2008), IN FIVE PARTS:
PART 1: http://www.pop.org/content/white-pestilence-808
PART 2: http://www.pop.org/content/malthusian-delusion-816
PART 3: http://www.pop.org/content/chinese-model-817
PART 4: http://www.pop.org/content/case-nigeria-818
PART 5: http://www.pop.org/content/human-rights-reproductive-wrongs-819

Aquino stands vague in his population planning policy

Aquino stands firm in his population planning policy

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) -- President Benigno Aquino III said today he is to stand firm in his population management policy, which respects all family planning methods including artificial contraception, despite the threat of possible excommunication by the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Mr. Aquino was reacting to the statement of CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, that the Catholic Church would excommunicate him if he allows the government to provide artificial contraceptives to poor couples who opt for them as a family planning method.

"We are all guided by our consciences. My position has not changed. The state's duty is to educate our families as to their responsibilities and to respect their decisions if they are in conformity to our laws," the president said in a text message forwarded to reporters by Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda.
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The title of the article should have been "Aquino stands vague in his population planning policy".

There is simply too much wiggle room in this policy statement that a herd of elephants can easily pass through.

No one has any issue with a general policy declaring "the state's duty to educate familes as to their responsibilities". As far as I know, this policy is nothing new and has been held by all administrations since President Emilio Aguinaldo III. "Respect their decision if they are in conformity to our laws", certainly. Again, all democratic countries do that. So what is there to argue with this policy statement? None.

As to artificial contraception, admittedly it is legal in the Philippines, as long as such is medically certified by the Food and Drug Administration. So technically speaking from a secular point of view, there is nothing wrong with Aquino's stated population management policy - "which respects all family planning methods including artificial contraception". Theologically speaking however, there is a lot wrong with his personal stand, considering he is an avowed practising Catholic.

His policy however, does not admit as to whether he would obligate public money to fund distribution of free contraceptives and if so, how much. There, we have an issue. The policy also does not make any stand on the so-called "abortifacients". That is another fundamental issue. The policy does not say if the plan to educate families includes mandating sex education in all schools starting elementary. There we have another issue. It does not say whether the policy of respecting all family planning methods also includes respecting the right of medical practitioners to refuse to cooperate in endorsing contraceptives. Aquino did say we are all guided by our consciences, but again, he didn't say anything when one's conscience conflicts with another. That is another issue. It is very difficult to understand President Aquino's population management policy. That is the biggest issue.

Miracle premature baby

Mother brings baby son back to life two hours after doctors pronounce him dead

It was a final chance to say goodbye for grieving mother Kate Ogg after doctors gave up hope of saving her premature baby.

She tearfully told her lifeless son - born at 27 weeks weighing 2lb - how much she loved him and cuddled him tightly, not wanting to let him go.

Although little Jamie's twin sister Emily had been delivered successfully, doctors had given Mrs Ogg the news all mothers dread - that after 20 minutes of battling to get her son to breathe, they had declared him dead.

Having given up on a miracle, Mrs Ogg unwrapped the baby from his blanket and held him against her skin. And then an extraordinary thing happened.

After two hours of being hugged, touched and spoken to by his mother, the little boy began showing signs of life.

At first, it was just a gasp for air that was dismissed by doctors as a reflex action.

But then the startled mother fed him a little breast milk on her finger and he started breathing normally.

'I thought, "Oh my God, what's going on",' said Mrs Ogg.

'A short time later he opened his eyes. It was a miracle. Then he held out his hand and grabbed my finger.

'He opened his eyes and moved his head from side to side. The doctor kept shaking his head saying, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it".'...
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Awesome. Read the rest here.

Give us babies, or give us death

(title with apologies to Sir Patrick Henry)

"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!"

Singapore Launches 'Dating Campaign' To Counter Low Birth Rate
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/aug/10081302.html
Taiwan Considers Cash for Births as Fertility Rate Dips to World’s Lowest
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10040807.htmlTo
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Hah! Dating Campaigns and Cash for Births?!? Good luck then…

If the campaign would have the slightest possibility of success, then it should encourage respect for sexuality, love of children, respect for life, and a longing for stable and loving marriages that trumps all materialism. All of these go against an ingrained culture of materialism, but like it or not, these are the only things that cause babies to be born and cherished.

Anyway, since Singapore and Taiwan are in dire need of campaign slogans, here are some of them. They’re not quite original but I fervently hope they get the drift.

-Babies are people.
-If it's not a baby, you're not pregnant.
-Smile. Your Mom chose life!
-Real men love babies.
-Real women love babies.
-Real governments love babies.
-Money won’t hug you back.
-Choose Life.
-The future of humanity comes by way of the family (a good and timeless one, from Pope JP II);

and;

-Slavery. Think about it.
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