The Useful Dead IV

We have discussed before the ghastly Chinese practice of re-using the body parts of executed prisoners. Now consider the following story from this weekend.

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Two packages containing human body parts - including a liver and part of a head - meant for a medical research lab instead were delivered to a home.

The body parts, sent from China, were mistakenly dropped off Thursday at Franck and Ludivine Larmande's home by a DHL express driver who believed the bubble-wrapped items were pieces to a table.

``My husband started to unwrap one and said, 'This is strange, it looks like a liver,''' Ludivine Larmande said. ``He started the second one, but stopped as soon as we saw the ear.

``Something wasn't right. It was scary, and I'm glad I didn't open them.''

The couple called Kent County sheriff's deputies, who determined the preserved body parts were for medical research, Lt. Roger Parent said.

Authorities believe 28 more bubble-wrapped human organs and body parts could be dispersed across the country, The Grand Rapids Press reported. Two of five packages headed to the northern Michigan lab broke open, scattering their contents. MORE

28 more? Is this an everyday thing? Exactly what was this mysterious lab in Michigan going to do with body parts from China? Whose parts were they, and under what circumstances were they removed? Somebody please tell us.

Marital Anarchy

The campaign for legal recognition of same-sex unions, whether you call it "marriage" or something else, is gaining momentum worldwide. As I've noted before, it is more than a little inconsistent for conservatives to gripe about gay marriage being a threat to heterosexual marriage. We were destroying marriage ourselves, in a variety of ways, while most gay people were still in the closet.

Here's something no one ever mentions: many of the marriage benefits gay people wish to have involve government hand-out programs that should not exist in the first place. Get rid of the welfare state and a big part of the problem would cease to exist. Other aspects of marriage that gay people miss, such as medical and inheritance preferences, can be handled with a little estate planning. Just have a lawyer draw up some papers and you can accomplish what you want, even without a legally recognized marriage.

With these stalking horses out of the way, the need to expand the definition of marriage is greatly reduced. We're left with the moral and cultural distinction of being "recognized" as a legitimate family unit. This is the real issue. Straight people want the union of "one man plus one woman plus (maybe) children" to be the only legitimized family definition. History and biology support this view.

If we expand marriage to include two men or two women, we run into another problem: why stop there? How about one man and two women? Two men and one woman? A man and his horse? Why have age limits? Caveman reports on a case in Germany where a brother and sister - who have produced four children together - are launching a campaign to eliminate laws against incest.

See the problem? If we start opening up marriages to any one of these non-traditional categories, there is no longer any logical argument to prevent any group of people from being "married" to each other. Where will it end?

If you are in such a relationship and want to live together in whatever arrangement, I am not suggesting you be prevented from doing so. I think you are missing out on something that is much, much better, but it's your choice to make. I hope you will realize that society is better off with a legal structure that recognizes the natural order of monogamy between men and women.

Wisdom of the Saints X

No matter what efforts I make, I cannot die to myself without his grace. I am like a frog which, no matter how high it leaps, always finishes up back in the mud. No matter how hard I try to escape from myself, I always come back to myself and my self-love. Draw me, then, O Lord, draw me after you; for unless you do, I cannot move even one step away from myself.

Blessed Dominic Barberi
1792-1849

How Many of Me?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 606 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Sometimes on busy days I wish I could clone myself, but now it appears I don't need to. There are plenty of other Patricks out there. Maybe we can have a convention.

Here's something fun: try entering names of people you know and see how low you can get the number. I actually got it down to zero, which I guess means the person I was thinking of doesn't exist.

Who's At War?

We live in a cynical age and it seems our young Marines know the score. I had some similar thoughts a few months ago. Semper Fi.

Hat tip: Lair of the Catholic Cavemen

Sisterly Love at Delta Zeta

After this and this, I may look a little obsessed about some women's fixation on outer appearance. Honestly, I am not going out of my way to find these stories. Now there is another one.

DePauw University is a small college in Indiana with the typical assortment of fraternities and sororities. One sorority, Delta Zeta, has been receptive to academically talented young women without regard to their sex appeal, or lack thereof. Members took their studies seriously and were apparently less involved in the more sordid aspects of campus life.

Rather than applaud this commitment, the national headquarters of Delta Zeta chose last year to begin an investigation of its DePauw chapter's failure to meet recruiting goals. The sorority house was only half full. This was unacceptable back at Delta Zeta HQ.

Now let's stop right here and think about this. Freshman girls at Depauw, as at other colleges, have a choice of sororities to pledge. It seems that the one sorority with a reputation for studying more and partying less had trouble attracting new members. What a surprise! Nonetheless, the girls of Delta Zeta appear to be a close-knit group. The fact that other students have misplaced priorities is not their fault.

So, the national office came to DePauw and "interviewed" all the members of Delta Zeta about their "commitment" to the group. They determined that 23 of the 35 members were "insufficiently committed" and asked them to move out of the sorority house. Here is where it gets interesting:

The 23 members included every woman who was overweight. They also included the only black, Korean and Vietnamese members. The dozen students allowed to stay were slender and popular with fraternity men, conventionally pretty women the sorority hoped could attract recruits. Six of the 12 were so infuriated that they quit.

"Virtually everyone who didn't fit a certain sorority member archetype was told to leave," said Kate Holloway, a senior who withdrew from the chapter during its reorganization.

"I sensed the disrespect with which this was to be carried out and got fed up," Holloway said. "I didn't have room in my life for these women to come in and tell my sisters of three years that they weren't needed." more

Reports indicate that many of the ejected members had actually been very involved and dedicated; one was the chapter president. Likewise, some of the twelve who were judged worthy of remaining had done little for the chapter - other than looking pretty, that is.

Justice may prevail in the end. It seems that the new, re-invigorated, more beautiful Delta Zeta chapter managed to attract only three recruits for this semester. With the six original members who stuck around, that leaves them with a total of 9. The national office said its goal was to have the chapter at 95 members by 2009.

If they think they had recruiting problems before, they have a real challenge now. Having this story told in the New York Times and syndicated to other papers nationwide is probably not what the Delta Zeta honchos had in mind when they set out to beautify the DePauw chapter. I see on their web site a plea from the Executive Director for all members to send press inquiries to her. Looks like a damage control effort is underway. Good luck, ladies.

FULL STORY