Microchimerism--again

In our Thursday Bible Study today at UALC, we are in chapter 7 of the Gospel of John. 

(NRSV)  7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish[a] to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish festival of Booths[b] was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; 4 for no one who wants[c] to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.) 6 Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. 8 Go to the festival yourselves. I am not[d] going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.’ 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were[e] in secret.

There were the usual comments (in a Protestant study) about Jesus' brothers being half brothers. Now the reason I say Protestant is that most of the Christian world believes Mary had no more children after Jesus and remained a virgin. Tradition holds that these are Joseph's sons from a previous marriage, or refers to a clan culture where close relatives (cousins) are called brothers or sisters,

I'd like to propose that God knew best. Our Creator God knows culture and he knows biology. If Jesus had half brothers and yet was the Messiah who was killed, there would be great demands placed on his brothers to take his place (particularly from those followers who didn't believe in the Resurrection). That would have been common in that culture. It still is today.

 But God also designed microchimerism--the passing of fetal cells between a pregnant woman and her babies.  Most of the studies in the last century have involved male offspring. Children leave behind their fetal cells in their mothers. There is strong biological evidence that these cells (particularly males) protect the mother for the rest of her life.  And those fetal cells can also appear in the bloodstreams of the woman's future children. Because of microchimerism there may also be the grandmother's cells passed to the children which the mother got from her mother.  Do you suppose God didn't have a plan to have only Jesus and not other men have Mary's cells in their blood stream?

Maternal Microchimerism: How A Mother's Cells Stay In Her Child Forever

Microchimerism: Lifelong Biological Connections Impacting Everyone

The Trump and Xi summit

Although I understand the economics of the deal and why Trump is chatting it up with Xi, I haven't forgotten the millions of Chinese citizens that were killed by Xi's party, and the millions of baby girls who were aborted for years in China's one child policy. The various popular Communist ideologies by our own leftists--climate extremism, trans-whatever, racist hate, Covid lockdowns, pro-Palestinian riots, worship of big tech and big pharma, anti-Christian bias, all in the name of chaos, not a better life for Americans. Although we can see through the virtue signaling and complain about it, their leaders too know that it causes long term chaos even when the poorly educated 20 somethings grow up or move on to the next big thing. Some people believe this took off in 2008 with the recession and the election of Obama, but I retired in 2000.  Wokeism and the leftist ideologies were firmly in place in academe even if it was called something else like political correctness or multiculturalism.   

Patron Saint of the Internet, Saint Isidore of Seville

I didn’t know the internet had a patron saint. Did you? He lived in the 7th century, and was known for being the first great Christian encyclopedist. St. Isidore of Seville, Bishop, died in 636. My kind of guy.

 According to Magnificat, Vo. 28, no. 3, May 13, "It was his curiosity about the world around him that made him the greatest scholar of his age. Not only did he write about Catholic theology--he collected information about music, medicine, geography, clothing, war, language, animals, plants, astronomy and physics. He compiled this information and carefully arranged it into textbooks that were used by scholars for generations to come."

I don't care much for Wikipedia, but it's getting harder NOT to use it since AI platforms use it and people grab the first thing that pops up. The phrase, "do your own research" is very hard to do unless you have a personal library pre-internet, and it won't help much with some of the current tech stuff like AI.

I used to have 7 sets of encyclopedias, but I think 3 were for children, so they left the house years ago. Although I own many "cyclopedic" type reference books, I don't call them that. But I do own the 11th, 12th and 13th editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica (inherited from my grandfather) and their history is fascinating although I don't necessarily agree with all that's said about it in the internet article.

The 12th was so focused on WWI (incredible maps) the editors soon had to publish the 13th to bring back some balance to scholarship about the world. Reminds me of the phenomenon we call Trump Derangement Syndrome and the Left/socialists believing the world of blame and evil only revolves around their own myopic viewpoint.

My new old jeans, Laurie Felt

It appears to me that the Laurie Felt brand was on QVC maybe a decade and then closed down sometime in 2023 saying she wanted more time with the family.  I looked through some old websites and found this.

The Laurie Felt jeans fabric is made of rayon, cotton, polyester and spandex and the various styles are extremely comfortable. It has a very nice feel.  They look very traditional, but there is no zipper behind the stitched fly, mine looks like 5 pocket, but in the front there ae no actual pockets (no bulk).  But the waist has a nice stretch for a pull on. Marc's which is an Ohio grocery and remainder store had a few on the rack and among the XXXXL and the XXXXXS I found a plain old L for $5, and it fit perfectly.  I'd never heard of the brand. 

"They pull-on — and stay on. We’re all about using technology to its maximum, creating special fibers that give a firm hold and an amazing recovery every single time. It’s all in the construction. The higher the construction, the tighter the weave, the softer the fabric, the higher the quality. All cars drive, but a Bentley drives better than a Volkswagen… same concept.

“There is so much stretch that just the slightest little shimmy gets you in. Once you’re in, everything looks lifted, shaped and great at the start of the day and when the day ends,” said QVC show host Jennifer Coffey, after rocking a pair of our Silky Slim Pull-On Jeans on air.

ICE agents going to 40 states

According to a USA Today article in the Columbus Dispatch the millions of illegal aliens who crossed the border and were not removed were "people who entered during the Biden administration." Because of tying the hands of ICE less than 1% were removed.

 
"Between January 20, 2021, and September 30, 2023, the Biden Administration removed from the United States only 10,522 illegal aliens who were encountered at the southwest border and who were placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge during that time. In other words, of the at least 3.3 million illegal aliens released into the United States since January 20, 2021, the Biden Administration failed to remove, through immigration court removal proceedings, roughly 99.7 percent of those illegal aliens." GOVPUB-Y4_J89_1-PURL-gpo222127.pdf

The article goes on to say although Trump promised to remove 1 million in a year, he only deported 477,277 from Jan, 20, 2025 to April 4, 2026. Trump has stopped illegal immigration. But USA Today complains that the ICE agents were too extreme and half of all Americans object. (using far left Politico figures) because some weren't "worst of the worst," Biden allowed /encouraged 4 years of open borders, Trump fixes it. Blue cities violated the laws, and USA Today features 2 mentions of 2 people killed in riots in Minnesota. Riots and protests, but no mention of those killed or injured or displaced by the illegals, Thanks for nothing, USA Today/Columbus Dispatch. New wave of ICE deployments to impact 40 or more states  by Trevor Hughes

Why so few babies?

There's an opinion piece in the NYT about "Why so few people are having kids" by Anna Louie Sussman. She writes on gender, economics and reproduction. No shock here, but she doesn't answer the headline question. Low fertility rates are global, and she has one anecdotal example (a well educated financially secure Mexican American citizen who wants to buy a nice home in Minneapolis but is afraid of Trump). Most of her examples are academic research (no citations) on economic insecurity although they don't prove her point as it shows high education, good salaries in countries (mainly Nordic) with pronatalist government social policies don't increase fertility.

One of her claims is that economic insecurity causes a rise in radical-right parties and that anxiety causes infertility. Then comes a great line. People of faith aren't having the problem. She describes people who are not anxious (i.e. who are not wild-eyed rioters in the streets) as tradwife, homeschooling 10 kids. This gal has really swallowed the Kool-aid.

Even with her far leftist education that probably cost her parents $100,000 she has no reference, remembrance or research before 2008 and the "Great Recession." She has no knowledge of how families and marriage have been demonized since the 1960s. Remember "Population Explosion" by Paul Erlich? It had Americans afraid to have babies because the world could end in a decade and it was evil to increase the population. AOC probably used it to create the climate hoax. Although she now has a new enemy--THE RICH. And the pill, and abortion? The War on Poverty which chased men out of the home? Those don't only reduce fertility they demonize it. Remember the women's movement and the rush out of the home and into the government and corporate workplace so more women could pay more taxes? Remember the huge inflation of the 70s so no time to cook? Hire a sitter and go to work and then to the restaurant or carry out. Even the entertainment which the little ones consumed with the TV sitter featured divorced or single moms. No shock to me that maybe women like this writer got the message.

It was the culture, lady.

Read those annual reports of your stocks

I tossed out my stockholders ballot before I read the proxy statement and notice of annual meeting for Netflix. First, but least important, was the salaries. The two co-CEOs earn $53 million each. The so-called "median employee" earns $211,201, a ratio of 255 to 1.

Second, and most important, the shareholders wanted changes and those proposals were all opposed by the leadership. Proposal 5 was on politicized brand misalignment, i.e. gender ideology in children's programming. I was horrified reading through the titles of the garbage being aimed at children. "This promotion of sexualized content, particularly to Netflix' youngest viewers, has alienated customers, employees, and shareholders, and exposed Netflix to litigation and regulatory scrutiny . . . exposed Netflix to significant contingent liability and material legal risk." A $500 billion market value company with CEOs who make $53 million is trafficking children, in my opinion. I'll need to call our broker today. Netflix opposing statement was jibberish.

Mary Jane Zipse, member of MMHS 1957

 I received word today that a classmate of mine from high school, Mary Jane Floto Zipse has passed away. Mary Jane Zipse Obituary May 1, 2026 - Finch Funeral & Crematory