Franciscan University of Steubenville under investigation for teaching homosexuality as deviant

By Johanna Dasteel

 
STEUBENVILLE, OH, September 11, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The national agency which grants accreditation to social work courses is questioning Franciscan University of Steubenville over a course which lists homosexuality as a deviant behavior.  Attention was drawn to the course by a group of Franciscan University alumni, identifying themselves as “Franciscan Gay Alumni & Allies”, who are demanding publicly that the university “revise its course descriptions and to stop contributing the culture of hate and ignorance.”

The course is called ‘Deviant Behavior’ and the part of the course description in question states, “The behaviors that are primarily examined are murder, rape, robbery, prostitution, homosexuality, mental illness, and drug use.”

In the press release issued by “Franciscan Gay Alumni & Allies” and published by the Daily Kos, further accusations and demands are made, based solely on the ‘Deviant Behavior’ course description.  Among them are the group’s accusation that students are “being taught ideological falsehoods in the classroom,” and that the classification of homosexuality as a deviant behavior “feed(s) cultural biases and promote hatred for lesbian and gay individuals.”

The group goes on to make a broad demand that the university “revise its course descriptions,” “stop contributing the culture of hate and ignorance,” and “conduct an audit of its entire curriculum and remove any information being taught on this subject that is outdated and not substantiated by sound scientific fact.” 

Regarding the last demand the group states, “It is about time the University aligns itself with the truth of this matter.” 

University officials told LifeSiteNews that Franciscan University was never contacted by the alumni in advance regarding this matter.

In a written statement to LifeSiteNews, the university explains that the course uses the term “deviant” as used in the sociological sense, to mean “different from the norm.” In addition, the university stated, “Franciscan University follows Catholic Church teaching in regard to homosexuality and treats homosexual persons with ‘respect, compassion, and sensitivity’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2358) while holding homosexual acts as ‘intrinsically disordered.’ “

The statement goes on to say that the course description is an abbreviation of chapter headings from the course textbook, which is used by a number of other universities, including both secular and religious institutions.

Stephen Holloway, director of the school’s accrediting agency, Council on Social Work Education, in an interview with NPR (National Public Radio), stated the inclusion of homosexuality as a deviant behavior in the description “raises a red flag”. 

When asked by LifeSiteNews why the course description was a red flag, Holloway recanted, saying that “red flag” was not the best way to describe the nature of the agency’s concern.  Clarifying, he stated that their involvement is solely due to a complaint being made by alumni, regardless of the content of the complaint, because the accrediting agency takes every concern of alumni seriously and this is just one among many that they have an obligation to investigate.

According to Holloway, the course description on which the press release and ‘Franciscan Gay Alumni & Allies’ complaint was based, could not jeopardize the university’s accreditation.  It is the content of the course, whether it complies with the standards of diversity set out in the accreditation guidelines that is considered during the process of accreditation.  The university, said Holloway, is in compliance as long as the university “teaches respect for ‘gay’ people and includes content about ‘gay’ lifestyles.”

Holloway has contacted Franciscan University Officials, asking for “information on the content of the course in particular and how diversity is handled in the program more generally.” He will share that information with the accreditation committee once it is received from FUS.  Holloway went on to say that, “their (FUS’s) accreditation is not in jeopardy.”  He said, “It is only that we get a lot of alerts that something might not be right in a program and when we do we explore them.  The accrediting commission looks at the concern and merits whether or not it’s worth pursuing.”  Right now, Holloway is collecting information from FUS to pass on to the commission to make that judgment.

As a reminder of the school’s claims to religious liberty, the school states, “We understand that some, not understanding the term (deviant) or its context, might take offense at the description and it is currently under review. Nevertheless, changing standard sociological definitions is beyond the scope of our work. So, too, is changing the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Dr. Michael Brown, host of the nationally syndicated radio program “The Line of Fire,” called this “another attack on freedom of religion and freedom of speech.”  “This indicates once again that tolerance is not the issue,” he said, “but rather the only option is the endorsement or celebration of homosexuality.  It is absolute intolerance when it comes to differing religious and moral beliefs.”

When asked about the nature of the increased threats to the religious liberties of American institutions, he told LifeSiteNews, “the day may come when religious institutions will have to seek out their own accrediting associations because of the continuing encroachment of political correctness.”

Attacks on religious freedoms have become more frequent and severe in recent years in the United States. The most notable violation of religious freedom decried by religious leaders and organizations has been the recent HHS mandate that contraceptives, sterilizations and the like be provided and covered by health care institutions, regardless of whether compliance would be a violation of conscience for religious institutions.
With FUS’s accrediting agency conducting an investigation at the request of what many see as a militantly anti-Catholic group, there are growing concerns being expressed about the future ability of Catholic Universities to live out their mission and teach in accordance with Catholic Social Doctrine with full religious freedoms.

FUS told LifeSiteNews in a written statement, “As a Catholic university, Franciscan teaches “all the truths of revelation whether found in Scripture or Tradition as taught by the Catholic Church” (Mission Statement, p. 6). To do otherwise would be a violation of our basic mission as a Catholic university in the Franciscan tradition.”

Contact information for the accrediting body:

Council on Social Work Education
1701 Duke Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
P: +1.703.683.8080
F: +1.703.683.8099
E: info@cswe.org

Link:

• Franciscan U of Steubenville under investigation for teaching homosexuality as deviant

Ahmadinejad Says Enemies Destroy Iran's Rain Clouds

(Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused his country's enemies of enacting a sinister plan to create a drought by somehow destroying the rain clouds before they reach Iran, several Iranian websites reported on Tuesday.

Well-known for his anti-American and anti-Israeli rhetoric, Ahmadinejad has made similar remarks before and last year accused the West of devising a plot to cause drought in the Islamic republic.

"The enemy destroys the clouds that are headed towards our country and this is a war Iran will win," Ahmadinejad said on Monday, according to several websites including the BBC's Persian-language site and www.snn.ir...

Link:

• Ahmadinejad says enemies destroy Iran's rain clouds: reports

SNAP: Support for Abuse Victims or Anti-Catholic Politicking?

Barbara Blaine, David Clohessy, and Fr. Thomas Doyle, O.P.

Conference speakers indicate a larger political agenda.

By David F. Pierre, Jr. 

Anyone who has watched the Catholic Church abuse narrative unfold in the media over the past several years has likely encountered SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a body which bills itself as the “largest, oldest, and most active support group” for clergy abuse victims. The organization has been quite successful in building its presence and influence in the media, as journalists and writers often turn to the group when seeking a voice critical of the Church for its handling of abuse cases.

Barbara Blaine, a woman who claims to have been abused by a priest as a teenager, founded SNAP in 1988. The group convened its first meeting in 1991, and David Clohessy, a Missouri man who has also claimed abuse by a priest, joined the group in a leadership role a year later. Prior to joining SNAP, Clohessy worked for nearly a decade for the now-disgraced, radical activist group ACORN.

However, while SNAP’s stated mission is “to provide support for men and women who have been sexually victimized by members of the clergy,” the group’s leadership has allied itself with a progressive social agenda and a full-scale assault on the teaching authority of the Catholic Church.

The real agenda at play?

This past March in Washington, DC, SNAP President Blaine appeared as a featured guest at a high-voltage conference called “Women Money Power,” hosted by Feminist Majority, a very influential pro-abortion lobbying group. At the conference Blaine was joined noted activists Eleanor Smeal, Sandra Fluke, and Dawn Laguens (a vice president at Planned Parenthood) for a panel discussion titled “Bishops, Politicians, and the War on Women’s Health.”

The panelists took turns railing against Catholic leaders for their positions on “reproductive freedom” (read: contraception and abortion) and their opposition to the Obama administration’s healthcare mandate. Needless to say, the venom in the room against the Catholic Church was palpable.

Most notably, Blaine sat right next to Rev. Barry Lynn, the well-traveled president of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State whose progressive views have made him a fixture on cable television talk shows.

Blaine must have really appreciated Rev. Lynn’s talk (which can be viewed on YouTube), because just a few months later he appeared as a headline speaker at SNAP’s annual conference in Chicago. On that occasion, the energetic Lynn—a minister in the United Church of Christ—simply built upon his Church-bashing speech from the Feminist Majority conference, claiming that Catholic bishops have “no moral authority” to speak on women’s issues and human sexuality and asserting that the Church’s opposition to the Department of Health and Human Services’ contraception mandate was a “total fraud” and an “unimaginable distortion of the very idea of freedom.” According to Lynn, the Church’s objections to the HHS mandate were not really about religious liberty, but about being given “special treatment” and the “power” to impose their religious doctrine on others.

What did any of this have to do with the topic of clergy sex abuse? Why did Blaine choose Lynn to speak at her conference? They are good questions. Lynn made a brave attempt to tie the subject of clergy abuse to his talk, but ultimately the issue served as little more than a vehicle for a larger assault on the Catholic Church and advocacy for left-leaning social policies.

Child abuse is “allowed” in the Catholic Church?

Another speaker at SNAP’s Chicago conference was author Judy Braun (she has also published under the names “Judy Brown” and “Eishes Chayil,” which means “woman of valor”). In a wild presentation titled “Monotheism and Child Sacrifice,” Braun argued that Jewish communities and the Catholic Church view the sexual abuse of children as an acceptable form of child sacrifice, with roots in the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac... (continued)

Read More at The Catholic World Report

Link:

• SNAP: Support for Abuse Victims or Anti-Catholic Politicking? 

Making Music

By Rev. George W. Rutler

(Crisis Magazine) Like Proust’s “episode of the madeleine” which occasioned an involuntary flood of memory, I remembered a flush of things when I chanced upon a Coolidge-Dawes campaign button among items in one of my grandmother’s souvenir boxes. Charles G. Dawes was a fitting companion for the classically-trained Coolidge, whose eloquence has been ignored by jaded historians. Coolidge was the last president to write his own speeches, and the so-called “Silent Cal” held an informal, chatty press conference every week. Without teleprompters, he honed his words and many of them were lapidary: “It is a great advantage to a president and a major source of safety to the country for him to know that he is not a great man.”

Dawes, a successful businessman, was a son of Ohio and then Nebraska and became the only vice president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when it meant something. He was the architect of the Dawes Plan for reparations after World War I. Eventually he became ambassador to the Court of St. James. But what involuntarily sprung to mind when I saw that campaign button was music. Dawes had taught himself the piano and was a composer. The only other public figure around that time to compose was Mayor Jimmy Walker who, in 1910, had written the song “Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May?” By almost every human measure, the Mayor was unlike the Vice President, and he did not pretend to moral heights. I am told that he dutifully attended Mass every Sunday in my old Church of St. Agnes on East 43^nd Street, reverently refraining from receiving Communion because of his irregular domestic arrangements. As a different sort of musician, Dawes was classical in taste and in 1912 composed for piano and violin his celebrated  “Melody in A Major.” In the very year he died, 1951, it was made into a popular song, “”It’s All in the Game,” which outsold Jimmy Walker’s vaudeville number.

The number of public officials who have actually composed music is small, although many have been musicians. Condoleezza Rice did us proud with her performance before the Queen in Buckingham Palace, but we still suffer the occasional politician playing aesthetically unsettling music on an acoustic guitar. Among heads of state, Harry Truman practiced two hours a day as a boy and became a fine pianist, and a self-deprecatory one at that: after playing a piece for a group of Methodist ladies in 1945, he said, “When I played this, Stalin signed the Potsdam Agreement.” John Quincy Adams was a harpist, Woodrow Wilson treasured his violin, and Warren G. Harding could play every instrument in a band he organized except the slide trombone and E-flat cornet.  The decline from Thomas Jefferson playing Vivaldi, Corelli, and Haydn on his Amati violin, to William Jefferson Clinton playing “Heartbreak Hotel” on his saxophone, is another hole in the balloon of social Darwinism. In recent times, King Frederick IX of Denmark’s House of Gluckensburg both played the piano and conducted orchestras.  King Bhumibol of Thailand plays the clarinet. As heads of state in waiting, Crown Prince Naruhito plays the viola and Prince Charles is a cellist.

Among heads of state who were composers as well as players, David soothed Saul with his harping and seems to have annotated the singing of the Psalms. There is the hapless case of Nero who made the Romans listen to his compositions. Richard Coeur de Lion delighted in being his own minstrel. And there are Henry VIII who may have written “Greensleeves” and  George III who only began to compose for the harpsichord after he went insane. Then there was the edgy King Ludwig II of Bavaria, patron of Wagner, who endowed the Staatstheater am Gartnerplatz in Munich. Farther back were the especially fecund Thibault IV of Navarre and  Alfonso X of Castile; and Louis XIII of France whose motets and a ballet are extraordinary.  The Hapsburgs are in a category of their own, because all of them from Frederick II to Karl VI, were composers. Frederick the Great wrote 121 flute sonatas and a symphony plus some marches. Though not a head of state, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, eventually Prince Consort in 1857, played the organ to the delight of Mendelssohn in 1842 and composed more than forty published works, mostly lieder, some of which are still performed.  Richard Nixon is said to have composed for violin and piano, both of which he played. When Josep Pilsudski was president of the Second Republic of the land that gave us Chopin, it is not surprising that his prime minister was Ignacy Paderewski. As an aside, one notes that George III’s consort, Queen Charlotte, the mother of fifteen children, chose as her music master Johann Sebastian Bach’s eleventh son Christian , and sang an aria in 1764 to the accompaniment of an eight year old Mozart. Considering that Mozart was the last of seven children, J.S. Bach the last of eight and the father of twenty, and the tenor Johann Haydn, a younger brother of Joseph, whose father’s seventeenth child was born when he was 63, artificial contraception would have greatly reduced the world’s repertoire of music.

Back to my original theme, Vice President Dawe’s “Melody in A Major” enchanted Fritz Kreisler who made it one of his signature pieces. As a prodigy, Kreisler had entered the Vienna Conservatory at the age seven, and then, with the support of his Jewish father who worked hard to pay his expenses, he studied in Paris under Bruckner, Hellmesberger, and Massenet, and came to the United States in 1888 to perform in Steinway Hall at the age of thirteen. At one point, in a state of dejection after failing to be admitted to the Vienna Philarmonic because of his vibrato, Fritz gave up the violin to study medicine, but he returned and in 1910, the Catholic master Sir Edward Elgar dedicated to him the “Violin Concerto in B Minor “ which Kreisler had commissioned and performed at its premiere. Later on, Kreisler lived in New York City at 2 Sutton Place where Bishop Fulton Sheen, then an auxiliary bishop, met him while calling on a neighbor. Soon he received Kreisler into the Church. The great musician had a great soul, and studied the Scriptures diligently in Hebrew and Greek. He adapted one of his compositions to a waltz tune as theme music for Sheen’s television program. Shortly before his death, he became blind and deaf in a traffic accident, but was uncomplaining, and died with edifying serenity in 1962. Kreisler was probably the last major performer to use catgut for strings. Possibly with Kreisler in mind, Sheen frequently use the image of beautiful music coming from the gut of a cat, but in this he was mistaken since catgut usually is from sheep’s intestines. But that is better than the fourth string on Paganini’s violin which was said to have been an intestine of his much beloved late wife, although Liszt denied this.

It does seem that an ear for music goes along with a gift for languages, and Kreisler was a polyglot. Sheen was virtually tone deaf and although his French was grammatical and fluent, he spoke it with a poor accent. Kreisler took an interest in the building of the Church of Our Saviour of which I am the sixth pastor. Bishop Sheen often remarked that he was to be the first pastor but that did not work out for reasons known best to him and Cardinal Spellman. He lived across the street and often visited what are now my rooms. I think the good bishop would be pleased to see in my study a fine bust of Kreisler, carved in 1949 by the Czech sculptor Mario Korbel. It came my way by almost miraculous circumstance. Carved on it are the opening notes of his “Liebesfreud.”

These were some of the memories that infused themselves when I came across that Coolidge-Dawes campaign button, and, if they ramble a little here and there, they are, after all, involuntary. It is just that some of this might be worth noting, or else they could be lost. I should give the last word to John Henry Newman whose sister, Harriet, thought that he had the potential to become another Paganini, although we assume not in every detail. Newman took up the violin at the age of ten and performed for his Oxford colleagues, for the near destitute children of Littlemore, in his Oratory school, and alone, even composing for a comic opera. He writes in The Idea of a University: Music, I suppose … has an object of its own … it is the expression of ideas greater and more profound than any in the visible world, ideas, which center indeed in Him whom Catholicism manifests, who is the seat of all beauty, order, and perfection whatever, still ideas after all which are not those on which Revelation directly and principally fixes our gaze.”

Link:

• Making Music

New Kindle Paperwhite E-Reader With 25% Better Contrast, Built-in Light

I just saw Amazon's new Kindle e-reader series announcement.   I recently bought a Kindle Touch which is great, but one of its limitations is the low contrast screen. Unlike an LCD computer, TV, or tablet display, the e-ink screen does not have a back light.  It is designed to be read using an external light source like a paper book, and even though the e-ink technology has improved since the Kindle was first released, the "paper" on this model still appeared gray rather than white.   Having adequate lighting near its reflective surface is an absolute necessity.

Now Amazon has renamed and improved the Touch.  It's now the Kindle Paperwhite. The new e-reader offers 62% more pixels, 25% more contrast, and a touch screen that is covered with a patented built-in light made from a flattened fiber optic cable (not back-lit, but lit from above.)  Even with the light, it has an 8-week battery life. 

From Amazon.com:

Designed for Reading

Unlike a backlit tablet display, Kindle Paperwhite guides light towards the surface of the e-ink display from above so that the light never shines directly towards your eyes, allowing you to read comfortably without eye strain.

Perfectly Balanced Whiteness

We worked on Kindle Paperwhite for over two years to perfect the uniformity of the built-in light, flattening out a fiber optic cable into a sheet, and nanoimprinting to ensure perfectly even distribution of light. Our design uses nanoscale optical diffractive patterns to enable tight control over the direction of the light. Enjoy reading with exceptional lighting uniformity and evenly balanced whiteness across the entire display.

Adjustable Brightness

Your eyes adapt to the amount of light around you, so you'll prefer dimmer light when reading in a dark setting and brighter light when reading in well-lit surroundings. You can adjust the brightness of Kindle Paperwhite across a wide spectrum - from low light to full brightness - so you can read comfortably in any setting.

Power Efficient

Because our patented technology enables fine-grain control over where the light is diffused, Kindle Paperwhite uses low-power LEDs, requiring very little power to evenly illuminate the entire screen.

Read More at Amazon

Links:

• Kindle Paperwhite with Wi-Fi
• Kindle Paperwhite 3G with Wi-Fi
• Kindle Fire HD with 7" HD Display 
• Kindle Fire HD with 8.9" HD Display 

A Look at the Church in Lebanon

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Cathedral, Beirut, Lebanon

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 6, 2012 (Zenit.org).- For Benedict XVI's Sept. 14-16 apostolic trip to Lebanon, during which he will sign and issue the postsynodal apostolic exhortation of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, statistics concerning the Catholic Church in Lebanon have been published by the Vatican.

The information, updated to Dec. 31, 2011, comes from the Central Statistical Office of the Church.
Lebanon has a population of 4,039,000 of whom 2,148,000 (53.18%) are Catholic. There are 24 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 1,126 parishes and 39 pastoral centres of other kinds. Currently, there are 53 bishops, 1,543 priests, 2,797 religious, 2 members of secular institutes, 2,301 lay missionaries and 483 catechists. Minor seminarians number 62 and major seminarians 390.

A total of 427,180 children and young people attend 907 centres of Catholic education, from kindergartens to universities, as well as 28 centres for special education. Other institutions belonging to the Church or run by priests or religious in Lebanon include 30 hospitals, 168 clinics, 39 homes for the elderly or disabled, 63 orphanages and nurseries, 22 family counselling centres and other pro-life centres, and 28 institutions of other kinds.

Link:

• A Look at the Church in Lebanon

Anger as US inspectors target Swiss chocolate

Swiss chocolate makers face inspections from American authorities to ensure their bonbons do not pose a bioterrorism threat in the US, according to a new report.

(The Local) Because of the importance of the US market, chocolate manufacturers in Switzerland are submitting to Uncle Sam’s intrusion in their factories but they are not happy about it.

“The fact that a foreign authority is involved in our Swiss businesses is unseemly,” Daniel Bloch, of Chocolats Camille Bloch, told Handelszeitung, the German-language business journal.

The newspaper has discovered that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to inspect 21 chocolate factories and 18 dairies in Switzerland.

The move is part of the implementation of America’s Food Safety Modernization Act, new legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama last year that aims, among other things, to combat bioterrorism.

The FDA contends that imported food could be contaminated chemically or even in a radioactive way.

Handelszeitung said Swiss chocolate makers are astonished to be subjected to such screening from a foreign country.

“The companies will let the inspections go through because they want to continue to sell to the US,” Franz Schmid, director of the industry association Chocosuisse told the newspaper.
 
But the planned inspections appear to go well beyond health issues to include such details as sales, ownership, employees and the size of company buildings.

“We ask ourselves, what is the real reason for the FDA inspections,” Jacques Gygax, director of the Swiss dairy association Fromarte, told Handelszeitung.

Gygax fears the Americans may be looking for technical barriers to trade and imports.    


Link:

• Anger as US inspectors target Swiss chocolate

LEGO Heavy Weapons

Florida Democrat Resigns After Anti-Christian Comment Goes Viral

A Florida Democrat has resigned from his county chairmanship after anti-Christian comments he made at the Democratic National Convention spread through an online video.

By Breitbart News

Mark Siegel resigned Friday from his post in the Palm Beach County Democratic Party, according to the communications director of the state's Democratic Party, Brannon Jordan.

Siegel, speaking to a conservative journalist in Charlotte, NC, said he wasn't a fan of Christianity because "the Christians just want [Jews] to be there so we can be slaughtered and converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ."



Terrie Rizzo, the county's vice chairman, has replaced Siegel as chairman. Siegel's resignation reverses his actions on Thursday, one day after the comments first went public -- where he publicly apologized but stated he would hold on to his job.

Link:

• Fla. Pol Resigns After Anti-Christian Comment Goes Viral

Government Warns of 'Zombie Apocalypse'

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL

WASHINGTON (AP) -- "The zombies are coming!" the Homeland Security Department says.

Tongue firmly in cheek, the government urged citizens Thursday to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, part of a public health campaign to encourage better preparation for genuine disasters and emergencies. The theory: If you're prepared for a zombie attack, the same preparations will help during a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake or terrorist attack.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency hosted an online seminar for its Citizen Corps organization to help emergency planners better prepare their communities for disaster. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year first launched a zombie apocalypse social media campaign for the same purposes.

Emergency planners were encouraged to use the threat of zombies - the flesh-hungry, walking dead - to encourage citizens to prepare for disasters. Organizers also noted the relative proximity to Halloween.

Among the government's recommendations were having an emergency evacuation plan and a change of clothes, plus keeping on hand fresh water, extra medications and emergency flashlights.

A few of the government's suggestions tracked closely with some of the 33 rules for dealing with zombies popularized in the 2009 movie "Zombieland," which included "always carry a change of underwear" and "when in doubt, know your way out."

Link:

• No, really: Govt warns of 'zombie apocalypse'

Time To Put Our House In Order (The Bitter Pill)

From Mac McLernon at Mulier Fortis:

"Before the Catholic blogosphere took off, the only sources of information for ordinary Catholics were papers such as The Pill. Unfortunately, The Pill has, for quite some time, been giving rather a lot of publishing space to individuals who are actually opposed to Church teaching. One such individual is Prof. Tina Beattie, who, as director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Catholic Studies at the University of Roehampton, certainly should not be writing against the Church's position on subjects such as abortion and same-sex "marriage."

If The Pill wishes to campaign against the teachings of the Church, then it should not be sold as a Catholic publication, and definitely not be made available for sale in Catholic parishes and cathedrals."

Link:

• Time To Put Our House In Order...

Staggering Number of Bones of Extinct Ice Age Animals Found in Mexico

Apparently, archaeologists have also found a few human skeletal remains at the excavation site

By Sanskrity Sinha

(International Business Times) More than hundred bones of animals, now extinct, that thrived over 10,000 years ago (the late Pleistocene period), have been discovered in the state of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico.

Remains of megafauna that lived more than 10,000 years ago in what is now the Valley of Mexico. (Photo: INAH) The discovery was made at a construction site of a wastewater treatment plant near the river El Salto in the city of Atotonilco de Tula, archaeologists at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), announced in a statement.

The remains include bones of several extinct animals including mastodons and mammoths among others, which were found scattered at different distances within an area of approximately 100 hectares, and as deep as 10 metres.
“The skeletal remains of extinct animals, some of which measure up to 1.60 m, corresponding to ribs, vertebrae, skulls, jaws, defences (fangs), horns and shells, of species such as glyptodont, mastodon, mammoth, camel, horse, deer, bison and possibly other as yet unidentified,” INAH archaeologists said, adding that it took about five months of excavation work to dig out all the remains.

Though remains of mammoths have been found in the past as well, archaeologists are dubbing it as the biggest discovery of the Ice Age’s large-bodied animal remains ever made in the region.

“This is the most numerous and varied discovery of remains of extinct megafauna, found together, registered so far in the Basin of Mexico” INAH archaeologist Alicia Bonfil Olivera said.

Human Bones

Apparently, archaeologists have also found a few human skeletal remains at the excavation site but scientific investigation for confirmation is yet to be done. However, two stone tools found in the excavation suggest that the bones may be of a human.

“The characteristics and size of some bones indicate that it is human limbs, which is not surprising because it is known that the man lived in central Mexico at that time.”

The sediments and sand layer in which the faunal remains were found further indicate that the animals and possibly humans probably were trapped in landslides and got buried in the debris.

Link:

• Staggering Number of Bones of Extinct Ice Age Animals Found in Mexico

Democratic Convention: Cardinal Dolan Prayed for God to Protect the Lives of Those “Waiting to be Born”

h/t the Blaze

Is the Higgs Boson the “God Particle?”

By Father Gordon J. MacRae

...If ever you bristle about the typical anti-Catholic mythology that religion attempts to hold back science, remember that the originator of all the science behind this model of creation was a Catholic priest, and many of the great scientists of his time did everything they could to suppress his ideas. They failed because they could not successfully refute either his faith or his science. In the end, even Einstein bowed to Father Lemaitre declaring that his model “was the most satisfactory explanation of creation I have ever heard.” If you have not read “A Day Without Yesterday,” please do.

Pope Pius XII applauded Father Lemaitre’s discovery of The Big Bang because it challenged the acceptable science of the time which claimed that the Universe was not created, but always existed and is eternal. Einstein later acknowledged that this “Cosmological Constant” was his greatest error...

On July fourth, physicists announced they had a momentary glimpse of the elusive Higgs boson, the subatomic particle long theorized to exist, and without which matter itself would not exist. The physicists who reported that they only found “evidence” of the Higgs boson are just being careful scientists. The discovery has a 99.9999% rate of certainty. There is no doubt left. The Higgs boson does indeed exist.

SO, IS IT “THE GOD PARTICLE?”

The short answer is “no.” Imagine for a moment that you’re on an archeological dig on the outskirts of Rome. Standing in your carefully excavated hole, your spade strikes a metal box. Inside you discover a small, worn chisel, and a note written in 16th Century Italian: “Herein lies my favorite chisel.” The note is signed, “Michelangelo Buonarroti.”

Well, if you’re an art historian, what you now hold might be priceless. If you’re also a person of faith who has viewed the magnificence of Michelangelo’s Pieta, you may treasure this forever as one of the tools used to create a work of artistic genius. Your discovery might land on a shelf with your name on it in the Vatican Museum. There will be no doubt that what you discovered is a tool used to create an inspired work of art, but it is not itself the art’s creator.

What does the discovery of the Higgs boson mean for faith in a Universe created by God? Absolutely nothing. To say that the Higgs boson and gravity are responsible for the creation of our Universe is sort of like saying that Michelangelo did not sculpt the Pieta, his chisel did... (continued)

Read More at These Stone Walls

DNC God & Jerusalem Vote Results Were on Villaraigosa's Teleprompter: "Two-thirds having voted in the affirmative.."

by Greta Van Susteren

Picture snapped and emailed to me by a colleague from the “clarification” process

Related:

• Is this a cynical move or what? Whatever the Dems did, it was sly.
• "You've gotta rule..." Villaraigosa Told to Steamroll DNC Delegates Who Voted No; Update: The Fix Was In 

Mennonites: we are willing to die rather than betray girl to court-appointed lesbian ‘mother’

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

 
September 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nicaraguan Mennonites say that they have been persecuted by government authorities since they chose to shelter ex-lesbian Lisa Miller and her daughter Isabella following their escape from the United States, but add that they are willing to suffer and even die to protect Isabella from a court-ordered custody transfer to her non-biological lesbian “mother.”

Lisa Miller and her daughter fled the country in late 2009 in order to avoid sharing custody of Isabella with Miller’s former homosexual partner, Janet Jenkins, with whom she had entered into a Vermont civil union. Jenkins is not biologically related to Isabella, who was conceived through artificial insemination and never adopted by Jenkins. Nonetheless, the Vermont court declared Jenkins to be Isabella’s “mother.”

Following their breakup, Miller repented of the homosexual lifestyle and professed faith in Christ, and began to fight the shared custody arrangement imposed by the court. Although expert testimony was submitted as evidence that Isabella was traumatized by the visits with Jenkins, the court refused to cancel them.

In a letter published on a Mennonite website devoted to defending Pastor Kenneth Miller (no relation to Lisa Miller) and others involved in Lisa and Isabella’s escape, the Mennonite “Nicaraguan Brotherhood” describes pressure and harassment from both U.S. and Nicaraguan authorities regarding their decision to shelter the two after their arrival in the Central American country.

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The Brotherhood says that their churches in Nicaragua have been “questioned and pressed to give information” regarding the whereabouts of Isabella. “Some have been questioned when going to the US embassy. Others were interrogated in their homes.”

“Brethren and neighbors have been watched, interrogated and threatened,” and, “In some churches Sunday morning services have been watched and videoed,” they write. “A house of one of the brethren was searched without a search warrant.”

“Some excommunicated brethren said that they were offered free visas, a trip to the states, study offers and easy ways to become a police officer if they would help find her. The policeman also suggested they rejoin the church but work as spies for them,” write the Bretheren.

The Brotherhood says that they forgive their persecutors, but will stand firm in the defense of Isabella, now 10 years old, who “has become an innocent victim of an ungodly agenda.”

“Her wellbeing has not been given much or any consideration. According to the Bible we believe that God has given Lisa sole responsibility to care and protect her own daughter since she has no known father.

According to the Bible it is a war between good and evil, a battle between God and Satan. As congregations we stand united in this spiritual warfare against evil.”

The Brotherhood add that they are willing to suffer imprisonment or death in the cause of protecting Isabella.
“The fact is that suddenly we find ourselves having to choose between obeying God and man made laws,” they write. “We have chosen to obey God. We are willing to give up our rights, go to jail, or even die, for the cause of helping anyone become free from a sinful life and helping that person to live in obedience to God’s Word.”

U.S. Mennonite pastor Kenneth Miller has already been convicted of helping Lisa Miller and Isabella to flee the United States, and may face up to three years in prison when he is sentenced. Jenkins has also filed a civil suit against Kenneth Miller for unspecified monetary damages, and has included organizations in the suit that have expressed support for Miller. Liberty University Law School’s dean Mat Staver has characterized that complaint as an attack on freedom of speech.

The letter of the Nicaragua Brotherhood does not specify which Nicaraguan Menonite churches are represented. Although its publication date is given as February of this year, it appears not to have been distributed outside of Mennonite circles. It was quoted in May in the Mennonite World Review, and was quoted in Jenkins’ lawsuit.

Link:

• Mennonites: we are willing to die rather than betray girl to court-appointed lesbian ‘mother’

Non-Physicians Allowed to Perform Abortions in California

Life Legal Defense Foundation Says Bill Morphed from Boat Paint to Humans

>Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net
 
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 4, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- The California Senate voted last week to pass a bill allowing non-physicians to perform aspiration abortions. Senate Bill 623, introduced by Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), extends a program run by the University of California, San Francisco, in which nurse practitioners, midwives and physicians assistants are trained to perform abortions.

"This bill was originally created to regulate boat paint," said Dana Cody, Executive Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "Now it's regulating and destroying human lives."

Ms. Kehoe claimed that the bill was necessary to fill gaps in the availability of abortion caused by the shortage of doctors in parts of the state. The bill went through three attempts before passage. Ms. Kehoe "gutted and amended" the bill after its introduction, which raised some protest from other members of the Senate. This spring, a Senate committee rejected an attempt to pass a broader bill allowing non-physicians to perform abortions. In the end, a narrower version of the bill was passed. Rather than opening abortion to non-physicians generally, the bill focuses on extending a U.C. San Francisco program training physicians assistants and others to perform first trimester abortions.

For months, the Life Legal Defense Foundation has been tracking down information on the U.C. San Francisco program. Earlier this year, they filed a Writ of Mandate to compel disclosure with a public records request for complete information. "There have been numerous attempts to resist records requests, leaving us wondering what they have to hide," said Katie Short, Legal Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. "It is important for Californians to find out what is being done in this training program -- who are the abortionists conducting the training? How many women are being injured by these non-physician abortionists?"

The Life Legal Defense Foundation also created a fact sheet about non-physician abortions.

Link:

• Non-Physicians Allowed to Perform Abortions in California

MSNBC Host: “Get Your Abortions Now In Case Republicans Win”

By Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com

 Touré Neblett, a co-host of The Cycle on MSNBC, is garnering criticism from pro-life advocates today after sending out a re-tweet on Twitter encouraging women to get abortions in case Mitt Romney defeats President Barack Obama in November.

“Girls, get your abortions NOW in case the Republicans win,” the re-tweeted message said.



Neblett, according to Wikipedia, is “an American novelist, essayist, music journalist, cultural critic, and television personality based in New York City. He was also a contributor to MSNBC’s The Dylan Ratigan Show and serves on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. Toure currently hosts The Cycle on MSNBC with political strategist Krystal Ball, conservative columnist S.E. Cupp, and MSNBC’s political writer Steve Kornacki.”

The re-tweet immediately came under fire from pro-life people on Twitter.

Link:

• MSNBC Host: “Get Your Abortions Now In Case Republicans Win”

Pro-Abortion Democrats Scream at 11-Year-Old Pro-Life Girl at Convention

By Bryan Kemper | Charlotte, NC | LifeNews.com

I want you to meet my friend and fellow abortion abolitionist, 11-year-old Zoe Griffin. In a world when grown adults ignore, deny or just don’t care about the abortion holocaust that has claimed over 55 Million of Zoe’s generation, she is willing to take a stand no matter what people think. Zoe joined her mother and friends to lay thousands of roses outside the site of the democratic convention and pray for the babies, the politicians and this generation.

While Zoe was praying, pro-abortion activists who claim to stand up for women began to belittle and scream at Zoe for her stand for life. What is so sad is that one of the women who did this to Zoe, Sunsara Taylor, is a well know anti-porn activist who claims to be against the degradation of women. I guess just not 11-year-olds who believe that women should not be dehumanized by the abortion industry. Sunsara Taylor’s Blog http://sunsara.blogspot.com

I could write a lot about this and how much I am sickened by what happened, but I wanted to let Zoe tell you in her own words how what happened and why she will never quit being a Stand True Activist. Praise God for young women like Zoe, she is why this is the generation who will abolish abortion.
Here is Zoe’s account:

“Hi, I’m Zoe. Something happened Friday night that a friend wanted me to blog about. I don’t have Facebook or Twitter or anything like that so I’m borrowing my mom’s page for now.
“What happened was a pro-life rally. We had showed up when only 4 people were there. I guess we were supposed to get there early. As more and more people came, a car arrived. A woman came out and opened the trunk. There were 3,300 carnations in the back of that car. We started to unload and unwrap the flowers. Lily, Bella, and I started to write pro-life statements with chalk on the sidewalks when some pro-abortionists came.

They were holding signs and chanting: “A baby’s not a baby till it comes out, that’s what birthdays are all about!” They were blowing whistles and jumping around acting like 5-year-old children. I was so sad that these people were so blinded I started crying. Then we started laying down the flowers all across the sidewalk. When we finished, the line of carnations was probably a mile long. A pro-life woman let me hold a crucifix that she had. I started clutching it close to my heart. My knees were shaking, so were my hands.

“The pro-abortionists turned to us and started pointing at different people, saying, “You’re a person! You’re a person! Fetuses are not!” Then the woman saw me crying and said,” You are making this girl cry with your bull____”. I couldn’t stand any more of those lies. They pushed it too far. In the highest-pitched voice I have ever spoken in, I screamed, “THEY ARE NOT THE ONES MAKING ME CRY! YOU ARE! WITH YOUR DARK HEARTS, YOUR DARK MINDS TURNED AGAINST GOD!” My mom ran over to me, put her hand on my shoulder, and calmed me down. Then she went up to them and said, “HOW DARE YOU ATTACK A CHILD LIKE THAT!” While she was yelling, pro-lifers came over to me to calm me down. My whole body was shaking. Our friend, Mrs. McKinney, took me, Jack, and Bella to a CVS that was nearby. We got water and chips and went back. I sat down on a bench when a man from the Charlotte Observer came over to me and started interviewing me. Once he was done, a man came over and gave us ice cream. While I was eating, the pro-abortionists left. Then we started to clean up.

“On the way home I felt sorry that I yelled at those people. I told my mom, and she said, “Do you know why you feel that way? It’s because you have a heart. You have a conscience, and you know what’s right and what’s wrong. Those people attacked you like that because they don’t have a heart.”
I will never, ever forget what happened last night. I had a dream that night that they all converted to pro-life activists. I hope that dream becomes a reality.”

Link:

• Pro-Abortion Democrats Scream at 11-Year-Old Pro-Life Girl at Convention

Romney rejected Condi as VP over abortion, marriage: report

By Ben Johnson


TAMPA, August 31, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Mitt Romney vetted former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice as his vice presidential running mate, but turned her down because her pro-choice, pro-homosexual views would split the party, according to media reports.

“Condi was fully vetted to become Mitt Romney’s running mate,” an unnamed campaign source told RadarOnline.com. Romney thought Rice would add foreign policy expertise “and he knew she would help with the all important female vote and African American support.”

The problem? Condoleeza Rice describes herself as “mildly pro-choice,” favors some kind of legal recognition for homosexual unions, held a prominent post in the unpopular George W. Bush administration, backs Affirmative Action, and may have voted for Barack Obama in 2008.
“Mitt’s advisers talked him out of it, because Condi is pro-choice and she isn’t willing to change her position on the controversial issue,” the source said.

These advisers reportedly told the former Massachusetts governor “ultra conservative support” would “immediately be lost” if he chose Rice.

That proved to be good advice. After rumors surfaced that Rice had been vetted for veep, values voters sparked a rebellion.

Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List called Rice “an unqualified candidate,” and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council described her candidacy as “a non-starter.” Conservative activist Richard Viguerie encouraged his readers to call the Romney campaign to talk them out of offering Rice the number two spot.

Instead, Romney chose Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, a selection that left many pro-life leaders thrilled.

Rice still graced the platform at the Republican National Convention the same night as John McCain, the 2008 nominee who attempted to dilute the GOP’s pro-life plank four years ago.

The former Bush-41 adviser may still harbor political ambitions. According to the source, she is thinking seriously about running for governor of California, where Republicans often hold pro-abortion and pro-homosexual views.

Link:

• Romney rejected Condi as VP over abortion, marriage: report

A Tale of Two Cathedrals: Why “Traditional versus Modernist” Tells Only Part of the Story

by Nikos Salingaros

(Crisis Magazine) Here we have two recent Cathedrals of similarly grand scale and with contrasting architectures. The juxtaposition of the two styles makes an interesting case study for the “traditional versus modernist” debate over which architectural style is most appropriate for worship. Debates of this kind usually begin over obvious characteristics of style. But following a close examination of these two buildings, the less obvious elements turn out to reverse first impressions. The issue then becomes very complicated, and, in my opinion, far more revealing than a superficial debate based upon style. This discussion brings up issues on today’s approach to church planning. First a disclaimer: I have visited neither building in person, yet that is the only sure way of experiencing a structure. For this reason, my review is bound to be incomplete and partial.

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, by Ziegler-Cooper Architects, is in obviously traditional style. This is an accepted tendency in many post-war churches, with a high, open, vertical entrance. It is an excellent idea to use, or rather, re-use traditional typologies for the ancient act of worship. Those who support tradition over innovation in Church architecture (and in the Church itself) see no need for any further justification. The human being is tied to God through ritual over millennia, and the best architectural solutions are those developed over time. An intelligent and sensitive architect can use them in a contemporary context with great success, and that is what has been achieved here. Tried-and-true methods are used to design a building that is solid on tradition, reassuring in presenting the Church of tradition to the faithful.

The Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, by Skidmore Owings & Merrill Architects, is a postmodernist innovation, expressing new forms and typologies. It presents one of many possible answers to the question of “how can we extend the traditional ecclesiastical typology using new methods?” At first glance, it is a very successful innovation indeed, creating space, light, and a feeling of openness, as an attractive alternative to neo-traditional designs. The materials are certainly innovative and play a major role in the impression the worshiper experiences inside the Cathedral. The Church is pressured both by its members and by its administration to appear innovative and not retrograde, so such a commission is seen as an advance in the sponsorship of contemporary forms for Church architecture.

There the matter would stand in a limited but superficial comparison: a traditional building versus an innovative building. Both would appear to work well, and if they were not separated by such a great distance, they could offer a choice to churchgoers who had the corresponding philosophy of their own, namely traditional versus contemporary. But things are not so simple. Let us look at the details and interior spaces.

The Houston Cathedral has an unexpectedly non-traditional aspect when examined more closely. It feels like a building from the Vienna Secession: rich materials, yes, but also planes that are not filled in, and abstraction in its volumes. This is not a traditional building by far. It is not a Cathedral that any of my friends who design traditional churches would have built. They would have stuck to more of a traditional style in all the details (with magnificent results by the way). Here, instead the architects have achieved a harmonious result by pushing traditional typologies and ornamentation as far toward modernism as is possible to go without losing everything. We are reminded of the Vienna Secession and Art Deco, that glorious flowering of innovative architecture just before architects eliminated every vestige of tradition (and most of the architectural rules that touch us in a healing manner). I am forced to revise my initial hasty opinion and declare this building highly innovative. The innovation is employed to give a very positive impression: this is the reason the building looks comfortable; it looks traditional even when it is actually not. I am impressed by the result and warn other observers not to be taken in by a superficial judgment.

This building is “modern” in every positive meaning of the word. I caution, however, that it comes close to being “cold” in those places where its approach to abstraction is the strongest. What could have been done to improve the Houston Cathedral? The answer is obvious, although not implemented. My friends would have put in those smaller details that come from traditional ornamentation at the smallest scales, even if very restrained. Or its architects could have devised their own form language on those small ornamental scales. The eye needs ordered structure just a little larger than the rich granularity in the natural materials, and that is missing here in some places. By imposing restrictions in its form language on the smaller scales, the hierarchy is lost going down to details.

Harmonious ornamentation achieved through multiple symmetries nourishes our senses and creates in us a healing state. As human beings, we always anthropomorphize our gods, and expect that they share our own higher pleasures. For this reason, our love of God moves us to ornament the place where we worship, and to do so in a totally selfless manner. We wish to create an environment of maximal transcendent pleasure using an understanding that arises from our own physical experience... (continued)

Read More at Crisis Magazine

Link:

• A Tale of Two Cathedrals: Why “Traditional versus Modernist” Tells Only Part of the Story

Play Clinty For Me (Clint Eastwood Knew What He Was Doing)

By Mark Steyn

(National Review/The Corner) Clint is a brilliant actor, and a superb director of other actors (and I don’t just mean a quarter-century ago: In the last five years, he’s made eight films). He’s also, as Mr Gavin observed, a terrific jazz improviser at the piano — and, in film and music documentaries, an extremely articulate interviewee. So I wouldn’t assume that the general tenor of his performance wasn’t exactly as he intended. The hair was a clue: No Hollywood icon goes out on stage like that unless he means to.

John Hayward writes:

The intended recipient was not Mitt Romney, the convention delegates, or even Republican voters, but rather wavering independents. Clint was there to tell them it’s OK to find Obama, his ugly campaign operation, and his increasingly shrill band of die-hard defenders ridiculous. It’s OK to laugh at them.

I’m not sure he could have pulled that off if he’d delivered a slick telepromptered pitch. As Mr. Hayward suggests, the hard lines packed more of a punch for being delivered in the midst of a Bob Newhart empty-chair shtick from the Dean Martin show circa 1968. Indeed, they were some of the hardest lines of the convention and may well prove the take-home (“We own this country . . . Politicians are employees of ours . . . And when somebody does not do the job, we’ve got to let them go”), but they seemed more effective for appearing to emerge extemporaneously from the general shambles.

The curse of political operatives is that they make everything the same. A guy smoothly reading platitudinous codswallop while rotating his head from the left-hand teleprompter to the right-hand teleprompter like clockwork as if he’s at Centre Court watching the world’s slowest Wimbledon rally is a very reductive idea of “professionalism.” Even politicians you’re well disposed to come across as slick bores in that format. Which is by way of saying Clint is too sharp and too crafty not to have known what he was doing...

Link:

• Play Clinty For Me

Related:

• Rush Limbaugh: Clint got under Obama's skin

Rush Limbaugh: Clint got under Obama's skin

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

Hollywood may be bashing Clint Eastwood's performance at the GOP convention, but Rush Limbaugh said Friday the reason is that he touched a nerve with leftist celebrities — and with the president himself.

Pointing to the photo the Obama camp tweeted after midnight showing the back of the president's head above the office chair in the Oval Office, Mr. Limbaugh said that proves the White House was worried. And he wondered whether it was Mr. Obama himself.

"It must have gotten to him because he tweeted at 12:30," Mr. Limbaugh said Friday on his radio program.
He also said the reason Hollywood types have panned the speech is because they couldn't find anything to shoot at in Mitt Romney's acceptance address, so they fired at whatever target they could find.

In his appearance just before Mr. Romney's formal acceptance speech Thursday night in Tampa, Mr. Eastwood held a mock conversation with the president, represented by an empty chair.
Link:

• Limbaugh: Clint got under Obama's skin

Chinese farmer builds Lamborghini from scrap metal

(Yahoo) Wang Jian, a young Chinese farmer who worked at a garage for more than a decade, built a replica of Lamborghini Reventon with a second-hand Nissan and Santana. This self-made roadster cost Wang around 60,000 RMB ($9,450) and can reach a maximum speed of 160mph, according to local media's reports.

 

Link:

• Chinese farmer builds Lamborghini from scrap metal

Buzz Aldrin Punch

h/t to Father Richtsteig

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