Odds and Ends 6/15/10

Signs that the world is getting stranger by the minute...

New Passport Rules Ease Switch for Transgenders

The State Department is marking Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month — a designation instituted by President Obama last year — with something much more lasting than a parade. On June 9, it published new guidelines for citizens wishing to change the gender listed on their passports, embracing policy that will make the switch much easier.

For decades, the State Department had required that transgender individuals, who identify with a gender other than their physical sex, have "sexual reassignment surgery" — a term that doesn't have a clear definition in the medical community — before they were permitted to change their passport listing. Now a note from their physician stating that they have undergone clinical treatment for a "gender transition" will net them a new passport valid for two years..transgender travelers have reported being harassed and embarrassed as they slog through airport security..

[I wonder which toilet is appropriate for transgenders, even with the note affirming their "gender transition". Could pose a dilemma for airport security. I also wonder whether the pilot would be required to change the script of his opening line to: "Ladies and gentlemen, lady transgenders, gentleman transgenders, bisexuals, trisexuals, and so on...this is your captain speaking...". Honestly, I don't have a clue if that would be politically correct.]
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Skimpy clothing leaves barmaid exposed

A 29-year-old skimpy barmaid who is accused of showing too much flesh believes police could be doing "more important things out there" than catching underdressed skimpy barmaids.

Megan Brooks appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court today to face a charge of being immodestly dressed on licensed premises at the Market City Tavern in Canning Vale in November last year, but today, the magistrate gave a strong indication that the case could be dropped.

Her lawyer Terry Dobson said he could not ascertain what the criminal conduct was, and needed more information on the statement of facts before Ms Brooks' next court appearance.

The court was told that the accused was wearing black lace French knickers with a buttock exposed, but Mr Dobson wanted to know which buttock was exposed as well as the extent of the exposure. It was also stated that Ms Brooks' nipples were erect, although Mr Dobson questioned whether that too was criminal conduct.

[Hmm, too bad the story didn't carry an incriminating photo so I could judge for myself. Her lawyer was quoted to have said: "I'd have to think that having two police officers sitting in a tavern checking out my client seems to be a complete waste of police resources.". Methinks the two police officers should be reassigned to the airport.]
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The Strange Legal Trip of Polygamist Warren Jeffs

Five years ago, Warren Jeffs was charged with sex crimes resulting from the polygamous marriages he arranged for his followers in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Jeffs then began a circular journey through the jailhouses and courtrooms of the west. This week, the self-styled prophet awoke to the promise of a change of scenery — but not a change of fortune. An Arizona judge dismissed the original charges against Jeffs, the very charges that had catapulted him into national headlines. But the dismissal has only cleared the way for Texas authorities to get their hands on him to face even more serious charges...

[Strange indeed.]

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On forgiveness

Sunday -June 13, 2010

This was at one of those times that our PPC organized some pastoral talks in our parish. I was in the audience listening seated beside our parish priest who was next in line to deliver a talk. While we were listening to the current speaker, the sound system suddenly malfunctioned. Our sound technicians were having a difficult time fixing the problem, which led our parish priest to quip: "Father forgive them for it seems they do not know what they are doing".
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This Sunday's Gospel (Lk 7:36-50) is about forgiveness. In the narrative, the Pharisee named Simon was obviously skeptical of Jesus' divinity, as he thought to himself : “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”. As Jesus responded with the parable of the forgiven debts, the Pharisee must have immediately realized that Jesus can read thoughts, and He knows when we are truly repentant. Jesus forgave the woman sinner in spite of her many sins, because of her sincerity and "because of her great love". She wept kneeling at Jesus' feet.

In the book "The only Necessary Thing", Henri Nouwen says "Forgiveness has two qualities: one is to allow yourself to be forgiven, and the other is to forgive others. The first quality is harder than the second.". Obviously, the Pharisee has a big problem with the first quality. Actually, he has at least three problems. One is that he refused to acknowledge Jesus as a prophet. Second is that he refused to acknowledge his own sins.The third is refusing to acknowledge Jesus' power to forgive. There is also a fourth: he apparently thought Jesus can not read his thoughts. Among these, his third problem may be the greatest. I have read C.S. Lewis in his book "Mere Christianity" (pp 54-55), address this problem:

"...among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God...One part of the claim tends to slip past us unnoticed because we have heard it so often that we no longer see what it amounts to. I mean the claim to forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the speaker is God, this is really so preposterous as to be comic. We can all understand how a man forgives offences against himself. You tread on my toe and I forgive you, you steal my money and I forgive you. But what should we make of a man, himself unrobbed and untrodden on, who announced that he forgave you for treading on other men's toes and stealing other men's money? Asinine fatuity is the kindest description we should give of his conduct. Yet this is what Jesus did."

"He told people that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all the other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured. He unhesitatingly behaved as if He was the party chiefly concerned, the person chiefly offended in all offences. This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin."
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"Lord forgive the wrong that I have done."

(and make me realize there are many)

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone.

PopEd Study Pack: Preparing for the coming storms!

(forwarded)

Subject: PopEd Study Pack: Preparing for the coming storms!

Hello all, and happy new schoolyear! This time of year also signals the beginning of the rainy season, but now it is punctuated by La Niña, and it is likely to be marked by floods and landslides!

As you probably know, this year has also been declared by the United Nations to be the International Year of Youth. Like all UN conferences since 1972, we can expect a year of intense propaganda for liberal adolescent sexuality, which will ultimately translate into revenues for the contraceptive and abortion industries, and the misdirection of the world's future citizens. The call of the moment is for Christian parents and educators to be vigilant over their niños and niñas.

1. As early as now, local RH advocates are busy aligning Noynoy's proposed sex education program with the forthcoming UN "World Conference on Youth" to take place in Tunisia next year. C-FAM reports that the UN will be holding a planning meeting in Mexico for this purpose and that it will be sponsored by the pro-abortion group " Catholics for (Free) Choice".

Noynoy has already expressed his RH focus, using the apparently inocuous term "responsible parenthood", and his intent to zero in on sex education for young people. These are valid storm signals, considering that his consultants and closest collaborators are affiliated with the international interest groups. Whether we like it or not, he is "apparently" our president-elect, and it is his administration that we will have to deal with in the next six years.

2. We suggest that we pro-family advocates all stay on the same page with regard to the unfolding sex education "dialogues" with the incoming administration. We can do this by reading the same encyclopedia articles on school-based sex education. So far, the best integrated reference is the "Pro-life Activist's Encyclopedia" ( http://prolife.ath.cx:8000/).

We can assume a functional synonymity between "sex education", "population education", and "adolescent health" the latter two being the integration of the first into a country's educational and health programs.

So, here are the recommended fundamental references for the issue in question:

HUMANISTIC SEX EDUCATION: THE DEATH OF INNOCENCE

http://prolife.ath.cx:8000/plae139

KINSEY'S FRAUD AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR SOCIETY

http://www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/KINSEY.TXT

THE SIECUS

http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=493&parentID=472

WHERE PARENTS ARE THE ENEMY & CHILDREN THE VICTIMS

The Grotesque World of Today's Sex Education

http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=0596-delaney

3. You can also familiarize yourself with the philosophy and modus operandi of the leading players in global secular sex-ed dissemination. You will notice that secular sex education is now promoted as a component of FP/RH (read: global population control), which includes not just contraception, but abortion as well.

IPPF on young people, their sexuality and their rights

http://info-wars.org/2010/03/27/international-planned-parenthood-your-10-year-old-has-sexual-rights/

http://www.ippf.org/en/What-we-do/Adolescents/FAQs+on+young+people+their+sexuality+and+their+rights.htm

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a757663448%26db=all

From 1983 onward, PopEd has been integrated -- through the UNESCO, under the pretext of helping and AIDS/teen pregnancy prevention -- into the educational curricula of UN member states. This is now embedded into the Millennium Development Goals of the UN.
With US, EU, and UN assistance, private NGOs have helped develop PopEd into a global institution with impressive packaging. Eg, http://www.populationeducation.org/.

4. After these background readings, we shall also have to update ourselves with the ACTUAL pop-ed situationer on the national and local government levels. Note that what while DepEd calls sex ed "Population Education", the DOH calls it "Adolescent Health Dissemination". We should be able to answer the following questions:

• How is PopEd integrated into the DepEd?
• What are the current curricula and modules in force?
• How are these integrated into the various subject areas?
• How does the DepEd train schoolteachers to deliver the core concepts of RH?
• What specific citations and excerpts prove the implementation of PopEd program?
• What NGOs are actively promoting contraceptive use among young people?

These weblinks might be of help:

PEP ca.1982

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12265646

OVERVIEW OF THE PHILIPPINE POPULATION EDUCATION PROGRAM

http://www2.doh.gov.ph/ayhd/ppt/JMJStatus%20of%20the%20POPED%20mel.ppt

POP-ED IN DEP-ED

http://www.deped.gov.ph/about_deped/organizationlinks.asp?id=12

Invoking your right of access to public documents, you should be able to obtain copies of PopEd curricula and modules from the DepEd office nearest you. Keep in mind that our Constitution's Bill of Rights reads:

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen ...

5. The above readings and references give pro-lifers an overview of "what we are AGAINST". It is important to study these in order for us to be able to discuss issues intelligently. ( FYI, anti-life threats are discussed in general in Evangelium Vitae, 12-17. )

BUT we also need to learn "what we are FOR". The safest references would be Scripture and Church teachings.

At the height of the debacles on the Cairo & Beijing conferences, Pope John Paul II articulated the pro-life/family mission not just for Catholics, but for all people of good will: Build a civilization of life based on truth and love. He envisioned "that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love."

We must foster a culture of life. John Paul II articulated the pro-life mission in the closing prayer* of Evangelium Vitae.

By the way, if you will be using Church documents and/or Scripture as references for advocacy in public fora, please make sure to translate the religious terms into scientific and/or layman's language. It would be best to use language that even elementary students and media persons can understand.

( Click here for a Study Guide on EV; after this, there are other documents on the subject.)

6. It would be advantageous to assemble teams of parents and educators/schoolteachers who adhere to Christian principles and are capable of presenting the moral case with technical/professional competence. It would be best for such committees to be operate on national and local levels, even down to the barangays (or BECs).

Article 15 of the Constitution also acknowledges "the right of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies and programs that affect them."

PTAs and other citizens groups can organize their own such teams and can register their stand on the RH/sex ed debate. The more associations weigh in, the better.

7. Attached herewith are an operational overview of Philippine depopulation (Flavier) and excerpts from the Philippine Constitution that are relevant to pro-life advocacy. You might find these helpful as outlines for group discussions.

8. This is only the beginning. Sayang naman kung ma-knockout tayo sa first days of school. Suggestions lang naman ito. If you know of other references pertaining to sex-ed/pop-ed, please do not hesitate to share these with others.

Status of PopEd(Sep2003).ppt

Flavier in Cairo 19942.pdf

Constitution Discussion Guide (excerpts).pdf

100% of failure is caused by simply not showing up

House kills Freedom of Information bill

House fails to ratify Freedom of Information bill

List of congressmen absent during FOI approval session

No special session for Freedom of Information bill - Palace

Bishops urge next Congress to pass ‘freedom of info’ bill

"The nine-year-old bill was set for ratification during the House’s last session on Friday. However, Speaker Prospero Nograles adjourned the session after Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo questioned the quorum and a roll call showed that only 128 out of the 268 lawmakers were on the floor. At least 135 solons are needed to constitute a quorum and enable the chamber to tackle official business."
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Right, Woody. And the remaining 20%, is perhaps coming on time.

In every company, there is always a severe penalty for being inexplicably AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) most especially when there are important and urgent things to do. It beats me why congressmen are exempt from this common business rule, and why we even allow it to happen. The FOI bill has been in the making for nine years, and taxpayers have spent gazillions to pay for legislative time, resources and salaries of congressmen to make it happen. Now they tell us there is no result because of lack of quorum. Surely, all 140 of the honorable, absent Congressmen cannot be suffering from LBM all at the same time. Beats me why are they not being confronted for this shameless behavior, and why on earth are we taking this sitting down.
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On stalled vehicles and miracles

Sunday: June 6, 2010

It was 6AM yesterday morning and I had to drive my teen-aged son to a CFC-Youth For Christ event where he assists in organizing. We have not gone even 1 kilometer on the road when the engine sputtered and conked out. My son just took a cab from there as the vehicle refused to start again. Luckily it was not so far away from our house as I had the vehicle towed back for the short distance, where the mechanic can attend to it later.

Today's Gospel narrates the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Lk 9:11-17). I have come across some speculative rationalizations of this story which insinuates that the five loaves and two fishes were not actually multiplied to feed five thousand, but instead the multitude were moved to the effect that they unselfishly shared together the food that each had kept so that everyone could eat. However, such speculation has no basis in the sacred texts, even as we reference the narratives in all the four gospels. While it is a laudable thing to teach that one must share one's goods charitably with neighbors, it is ungainly to suggest that an actual miracle did not take place in this instance just to emphasize the value of human generosity. After all, Jesus already taught liberally about sharing one's blessings may times elsewhere (e.g. if you have two coats, give one to your neighbor who does not have one), and to dismiss the miracle of multiplication in favor of emphasizing man's capability for generosity misplaces the point of the story: the Love and Majestic Power of Jesus.

We do have unquestionable faith in Jesus' power to change water into wine, heal the crippled, raise the dead, calm the storms, and most certainly we should reserve the same unquestionable faith in Jesus' power to multiply bread and fish. All of these miracles happened exactly as they were told. In this Sunday's holy observation of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we likewise profess our unquestionable faith in the greatest expression of love and miracle for all time: Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist.
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Yesterday's incident with my stalled vehicle upset me for a while. Then I recalled that I drove the same vehicle over the recent weekend to an overnight beach outing with the entire clan where we traveled a total of more than 350kms without a hitch. The family vehicle worked like a charm then, and I realized that it was a good thing that it broke down only yesterday under harmless circumstances. Had it happened when our entire family were on that long trip, it would have ruined our weekend holiday. Now that I think about it, the chances were about 350 to 1 in favor of the vehicle breaking down on that holiday trip. So I guess we just happened to be spared from the normal laws of that dreadful probability, but then I remembered we all prayed just before the trip.

God is good.

Maria Magdalena van Beethoven would have approved...

Paying pregnant women not to have abortions

The governor of the Lombardy province of northern Italy introduced a policy that would offer pregnant women $5,500 (€4,500) not to end their pregnancies, the BBC reports. Under the policy, established by governor Roberto Formigoni, only pregnant women facing severe economic hardship would be eligible for the payment.

Formigoni has allotted $6.1 million (€5 million) to the program, which would distribute cash to eligible women in monthly payments of about $300 (€250) for 18 months.
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Yet critics have condemned the plan as "propaganda" — pointing out that there is only sufficient funding for fewer 1,200 women. They also point out that while it may offer immediate help to pregnant women facing financial struggles, it ultimately offers a short-term solution to what is a long-term, life-altering decision.

So what if there is only funding for 1,200 women? The assistance would have been well worth it even if it is funding only ONE woman. If everyone adopted the kind of principle in extending assistance that these critics are alluding to, then all assistance to the needy would have to be considered "propaganda".

According to this source, there is an approximate 120,000 officially-induced abortions in Italy per year. Now had a policy earmarked sufficient funds for all those destitute mothers, I doubt if the critics would still have the gall to cry out "propaganda", yet most certainly they would have torn out their hair and jumped through the roof. On the other hand they would have danced the night away if a policy were established to fund massive abortions.

It seems that these people are not only critics but fortune-tellers as well. It is doubly disingenuous for them to label the assistance "a short-term solution to what is a long-term, life-altering decision", clearly premised on the notion that they can predict with uncanny accuracy the miserable future of poor mothers and their doomed-to-fail babies more than anyone else. Good thing these pro-aborts were not around when Beethoven was about to be born.

At any rate, any decision no matter how big or small, carries with it some "life-altering" consequences, but only if one is allowed to retain life in the first place. No doubt in this case it is a better decision to be a "propagandist", rather than be a pessimistic crystal-ball gazer who would automatically deny hope to the likes of Beethoven and his mother.

Un saluto al Formigoni, Dio la benedice!
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Last shot at summer vacation

with family and sis-in-law's family

kainan na!

group pic

my two bosses

my two sons and nieces

my eldest amused to discover beach named after him

fake tattoo

dusk 1

dusk 2

Thank you Lord for a happy occasion and the safe trip.
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