More on the abortion/breast cancer link

A microbiologist (i.e. - smart guy with credibility) who recognizes the abortion/breast cancer link and will be documenting it daily on his blog. I just wish people would wake up to organizations like Susan G. Komen who are actually endangering women's health by both denying the risk and donating to the largest purveyor of avoidable breast cancer in the country: Planned Parenthood.

The Power of Personal Influence

I lifted this from the Art of Manliness site. Really, REALLY worth re-posting. I thought of John Wayne's character in The Quiet Man.

The Power of Personal Influence

from Self Control, Its Kingship and Majesty by William George Jordan, 1905

The only responsibility that a man cannot evade in this life is the one he thinks of least,—his personal influence. Man’s conscious influence, when he is on dress-parade, when he is posing to impress those around him,—is woefully small. But his unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words and acts, the trifles he never considers, —is tremendous. Every moment of life he is changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. So silent and unconsciously is this influence working, that man may forget that it exists.

All the forces of Nature,—heat, light, electricity and gravitation,—are silent and invisible. We never see them.; we only know that they exist by seeing the effects they produce. In all Nature the wonders of the “seen ” are dwarfed into insignificance when compared with the majesty and glory of the “unseen.”

Into the hands of every individual is given a marvellous power for good or for evil,—the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what a man really is, not what he pretends to be. Every man, by his mere living, is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations.

There are men and women whose presence seems to radiate sunshine, cheer and optimism. You feel calmed and rested and restored in a moment to a new and stronger faith in humanity. There are others who focus in an instant all your latent distrust, morbidness and rebellion against life. Without knowing why, you chafe and fret in their presence. You lose your bearings on life and its problems. Your moral compass is disturbed and unsatisfactory. It is made untrue in an instant, as the magnetic needle of a ship is deflected when it passes near great mountains of iron ore.

There are men who float down the stream of life like icebergs,—cold, reserved, unapproachable and self-contained. In their presence you involuntarily draw your wraps closer around you, as you wonder who left the door open. These refrigerated human beings have a most depressing influence on all those who fall under the spell of their radiated chilliness. But there are other natures, warm, helpful, genial, who are like the Gulf Stream, following their own course, flowing undaunted and undismayed in the ocean of colder waters. Their presence brings warmth and life and the glow of sunshine, the joyous, stimulating breath of spring.

There are men who are like malarious swamps,—poisonous, depressing and weakening by their very presence. They make heavy, oppressive and gloomy the atmosphere of their own homes; the sound of the children’s play is stilled, the ripples of laughter are frozen by their presence. They go through life as if each day were a new big funeral, and they were always chief mourners. There are other men who seem like the ocean; they are constantly bracing, stimulating, giving new draughts of tonic life and strength by their very presence.

There are men who are insincere in heart, and that insincerity is radiated by their presence. They have a wondrous interest in your welfare,—when they need you. They put on a “property” smile so suddenly, when it serves their purpose, that it seems the smile must be connected with some electric button concealed in their clothes. Their voice has a simulated cordiality that long training may have made almost natural. But they never play their part absolutely true, the mask will slip down sometimes; their cleverness cannot teach their eyes the look of sterling honesty; they may deceive some people, but they cannot deceive all. There is a subtle power of revelation which makes us say: “Well, I cannot explain how it is, but I know that man is not honest.”

Man cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constantly weakening or strengthening of others. He cannot evade the responsibility by saying it is an unconscious influence. He can select the qualities that he will permit to be radiated. He can cultivate sweetness, calmness, trust, generosity, truth, justice, loyalty, nobility,—make them vitally active in his character,—and by these qualities he will constantly affect the world…

Men and women have duties to others,—and duties to themselves. In justice to ourselves we should refuse to live in an atmosphere that keeps us from living our best. If the fault be in us, we should master it. If it be the personal influence of others that, like a noxious vapor, kills our best impulses, we should remove from that influence, —if we can possibly move without forsaking duties. If it be wrong to move, then we should take strong doses of moral quinine to counteract the malaria of influence. It is not what those around us do for us that counts,—it is what they are to us. We carry our houseplants from one window to another to give them the proper heat, light, air and moisture. Should we not be at least as careful of ourselves?

To make our influence felt we must live our faith, we must practice what we believe. A magnet does not attract iron, as iron. It must first convert the iron into another magnet before it can attract it. It is useless for a parent to try to teach gentleness to her children when she herself is cross and irritable. The child who is told to be truthful and who hears a parent lie cleverly to escape some little social unpleasantness is not going to cling very zealously to truth. The parent’s words say “don’t lie,” the influence of the parent’s life says “do lie.”

No man can ever isolate himself to evade this constant power of influence, as no single corpuscle can rebel and escape from the general course of the blood. No individual is so insignificant as to be without influence. The changes in our varying moods are all recorded in the delicate barometers of the lives of- others. We should ever let our influence filter through human love and sympathy. We should not be merely an influence,—we should be an inspiration. By our very presence we should be a tower of strength to the hungering human souls around us.

The "Catholic" Campaign for "Human Development" is at it again

Another reason why it is so important to know where your money is going. Once again the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is showing why it is neither Catholic nor supportive of human development. It's goals have always been socialist, if not Marxist, and hell-bent for support of organizations who work directly AGAINST the Church's moral teachings. We knew about this in the 80's and nothing of any consequence has been done to prevent our money from being flushed down the toilet. Last year, when the complaints became an outcry, the CCHD barely paid it lip-service. It needs to be shut down and overhauled, including the firing of those responsible for this.

As for me, I will continue to give only to those charities that I can identify as being actually true to Catholic teaching. CCHD is rotten and will not receive a dime of my money. I'd much rather go with this one - or this one - or even this one.

Back again!

Wow, it's been over a year since I have posted to this pathetic blog. Probably because there's so much good stuff out there that I'd rather spend my time reading it than giving my little opinion. It's hard to stay original.

Culture Unplugged Video

I'm usually very reluctant to share what I believe to be merely guilt-inspiring content which seems to serve only to make us feel badly. This video, however, struck a nerve - especially because of how we complain about things that are really so insignificant. I know that complaining about what I eat will be that much more difficult now.

Oh, and now saying grace before a meal takes on a whole new depth of meaning...

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Ok, I told you so...

Obama's legacy?

As an article from World Net Daily explains, an abortionist has lost her medical license and the owner of the abortuary is being sued. But the question remains: why has no one been charged with murder in the death of this ALREADY BORN baby? Owing to the details alleged in the case, the abortuary owner, Belkis Gonzalez (pictured here) should be in jail awaiting trial for murder.

From the article:

"As a direct and proximate result of the negligent conduct of the Defendants, Plantiff Sycloria witnessed the live birth and suffering of her daughter as she struggled for life in pain, moving and breathing on the recliner. She witnessed Belkis Gonzalez enter the room and knock the live baby from the recliner seat where she had given birth to the floor. She then witnessed the murder of her daughter by Belkis Gonzalez before her eyes, as Belkis Gonzalez picked up a large pair of orange shears and cut the umbilical cord connecting mother and daughter. Belkis Gonzalez did not clamp the baby's umbilical cord allowing the baby to bleed out and also threw or by some accounts literally swept the breathing live child into a biohazard bag to suffocate and bleed to death. There are reports that Belkis Gonzalez also placed a caustic chemical in the bag with the live baby."

Where is the outrage, even among those who are proponents of preborn killing? This is the very type of killing that our new president, Mr. Obama, has supported in the past by actively opposing legislation that would make it illegal (h/t to Jill Stanek and her outstanding work). He has made it clear that he will accept no limitations when a woman "chooses" to kill her fetus, or, whoops! - her child. What euphemism shall we use for a child who is unexpectedly born before she dies like she is supposed to..."product of birth?" "A lump of born tissue?"

This is evil, and those who turn away from it (Mr. President?) are complicit.