SEBASTIEN writes: The post on the "unambitious women" who have nothing better to do than weave crosses out of wheat caught my eye. The work they have done is quite beautiful and there is every chance that their work will travel the centuries and be appreciated by admirers who by chance enter the church to shelter from the rain. This was the case when we took shelter in St Antoine's Church, Nozeroy in the Jura region of France. In this church, you will find 17th century wheat embroidery in near perfect condition. The attached photo is one that I took in 2010. There are few more photos here.

WRITING at Town Hall, Star Parker says that Hilary Rosen presents a serious image problem for Obama, not because of what she said about Ann Romney but because of who she is: a lesbian, radical left activist. Parker contends this kind of prominence for a lesbian is too much for mainstream America. It would be great if that were so, but this strikes me as wishful thinking. After all, a former GOP vice president, Dick Cheney, had a daughter who lived publicly as a lesbian and it did not seem to hurt him politically.

Parker writes:

Rosen, who works closely with the White House, is a high dollar lesbian “inside-the-beltway” Washington power broker. She and her now estranged partner, the former director the Human Rights Campaign – an organization championing rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders – adopted two black children in 1999.

Her current lesbian partner is president of the American Federation of Teachers – the nation’s second largest teachers’ union. (more…)

AT Galliawatch, Tiberge writes on the election results in France:

Marine Le Pen did very well. Much better than I thought at noon today. She probably actually garnered more than 20% but it is not likely we will ever know the true figures. At any rate, she is officially a politician to contend with and will be regarded as a major player in the French political landscape.

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THE WOMEN of St. Fidelis Church in Victoria, Kansas are clearly not leaning into their careers, as Sheryl Sandberg would say. In fact, they are so unambitious, they have time to do things like make this cross out of wheat. (View a much sharper image here.)

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VINCENT C. writes:

It is unnecessary to repeat the litany of horror stories that have accompanied the entry of women into the military, but it continues to disturb anyone who follows these matters why those in charge believe that the events are isolated, and then proceed to dismiss any serious discussion as to how these problems can be avoided in the future. The possible entry of women into Marine combat units, and the Navy’s decision to place women on attack nuclear submarines, are but two recent examples, of which there are many more, of this lunacy. (more…)

WRITING in response to this entry about married couples who are “childless by choice,” Art from Texas writes:

At the university I am attending there are several married women in Earth Science classes with me, and only one has had any children. Several of the young women in my class have quite openly said that they find the idea of being pregnant and having another life inside them disturbing. Those are the views and lifestyles of my generation.

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STEVE writes:

This sentence from Pope Pius XII’s 1958 address resonates with me:

When there are many children, the youngsters are spared the boredom of loneliness and the discomfort of having to live in the midst of adults all the time.

We have six homeschooled kids and live in a four-bedroom house with a large yard in a neighborhood where everyone else – if they have children – has at most two designer kids (“We’re done!”). (more…)

IN THE entry about Natural Family Planning, John G. writes:

I see you stumbled across some statistics put out by the NFP industry. You should be aware that all the numbers you’ll see in those contexts will fall into one of three categories: “Lies, damn lies, and statistics.” (more…)

ANDREW, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, writes:

I think this Kate Perry music video accurately portrays what happens to women when they enlist in the military, especially in a combat-oriented branch such as the Marine Corps. They destroy their femininity. (more…)

IN A HIGHLY significant move, the Marine Corps will for the first time in its history consider women applicants to combat training courses next month, Marine Corps Times reports. The change comes even though the Defense Department does not permit women in combat positions. (more…)

  THIS portrait of Mrs. James Guthrie by the Victorian artist Lord Frederick Leighton comes by way of the website British Paintings. This is is the sort of woman Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg would condemn for not leaning into her career. But then she was a victim of her times, held in a prison, awaiting liberation by the suffragettes and their fellow revolutionaries. Mrs. Guthrie was insufficiently self-actualized.

IN HIS 1958 address, “The Large Family,” Pope Pius XII spoke of the spirit of selfishness that overtakes an entire society when procreation is controlled and thwarted. In his address, posted recently at the traditionalist newspaper, The Remnant, the pope said, “There is no eugenics that can improve upon nature.”

He spoke movingly of the subtle confidence a large family instills in a developing child’s entire world view: (more…)

IN THE entry “Leftist vs. Liberal Mormon,” Jeff writes:

It is disturbing in a nation of three hundred million people that Obama or Romney may be the only options available to voters. Pity we couldn’t do better. Either way I think our nation is beyond the point of no return.

Perhaps one of your Mormon readers could explain what was left undone in the Christian Gospel that is resolved by Mormonism. Christians believe Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture. There are no Christian “Prophets” after Jesus Christ because no further revelation or testament is needed. However, the Book of Mormon claims to be just that, another testament.

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ACCORDING to Victor Davis Hanson at National Review Online, Hilary Rosen’s recent criticism of Ann Romney for being a mother who does not work was improper. Rosen’s comments were wrong, according to this supposed conservative, not because they were an attack on the institution of the family, but because wives of presidential candidates should not be judged unless they put forth a specific political platform of their own. (more…)

IN a piece at National Review Online, Heather Mac Donald laments Romney’s craven appeals to feminists,  a theme I discussed here last week. She writes:

Even if the women’s vote existed (Ramesh shows it to be largely a phantom), it would not be a good strategy to pursue it — at least as that pursuing is conventionally done. The distortions inflicted by delusional feminist grievance on this country’s core institutions — from workplaces to universities and the family — is enormous. (more…)

N.W. writes:

The “Childless by Choice Project” was recently the subject of an NPR feature. The project is the brainchild (presumably the only child) of Laura Scott, who in 2003 happened to be perusing Madelyn Cain’s book, “The Childless Revolution.” Intrigued by the idea that there really might be such a revolution, Mrs. Scott decided to travel the country to talk to the common everyperson and find out why so many married couples had decided to forgo having children. From this journey came a blog, a book, a documentary, and a FB group all concerned with couples who have decided to live child-free. Here is her story.

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HERE is an excellent 2001 piece by Charlotte Hayes about the history, science and effectiveness of Natural Family Planning (NFP), with a long bibliography for further reading.

Hayes reports that, according to a 1994 study, the rate of “accidental pregnancies” in couples using NFP was around two to three percent in the first year. Divorce rates are extremely low among NFP couples.

Synthetic hormones are linked to increase rates of heart attacks and breast cancer. Also, there is some evidence that sperm reduces depression in women, providing an argument against condom use.

Why is NFP not actively recommended by the Obama administration, given its extreme concern for the affordability of contraception? NFP costs virtually nothing. And, in a world where organic chickens are considered morally superior to chickens raised on chemical feed, why is the Organic Woman so rare?

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