The Cosmos Erected Out of Harmonies

American Minute from William J. Federer

An attack of smallpox when he was four-years-old left him with crippled hands and poor eyesight. Overcoming those handicaps, he studied Copernicus' works and at age 23 became a professor of astronomy. His name was Johannes Kepler, born DECEMBER 27, 1571.

His laws of planetary motion, known as Kepler's Laws, helped Newton formulate the theory of gravity.

In his work, "The Harmonies of the World," book five, Kepler stated: "O, Almighty God, I am thinking Thy thoughts after Thee!...The book is written, to be read either now or by posterity, I care not which. It may be well to wait a century for a reader, as God has waited six thousand years for an observer."

In comparing celestial orbits of the planets with polyphonic harmonies in music, Kepler wrote: "Holy Father, keep us safe in the concord of our love for one another, that we may be one just as Thou art with Thy Son, Our Lord, and with the Holy Ghost, and just as through the sweetest bonds of harmonies Thou hast made all Thy works one,"

Kepler continued: "and that from the bringing of Thy people into concord, the body of Thy Church may be built up in the Earth, as Thou didst erect the heavens themselves out of harmonies."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.

Video: Joel Dykstra on Underground Lab at Homestake

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joel Dykstra answers a question from the audience about the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab (DUSEL) lab at the old Homestake Gold Mine, from Dykstra's Town Hall Meeting in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Experiments Already Started at Homestake Mine

KELO reports that while the official labs to be set up in the old Homestake Gold Mine at Lead are still in the future, experiments are already underway there:

The early tests are focusing on geology, geological engineering and underground hydrology.

Other scientists are studying microbes and bacteria that inhabit the top layer of the Earth's crust and could have applications in the study of other planets -- such as where life on Mars is likely to be found.

Cool!

Science Now Explains The Uniqueness of Every Human Being From Conception

Dakota Voice is reviewing the Report of the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, in light of the upcoming November vote on Initiated Measure 11 to end most abortions in South Dakota. Pertinent sections of the report will be reviewed each week for the next several weeks which may shed light on Initiated Measure 11.

First week: The Incorrect Assumptions of the Roe v. Wade Decision

Second Week: What Has Been Learned Since the Roe v. Wade

Third Week: The Current Practice of Abortion in South Dakota

Fourth Week: The Experiences of Women Who Have Had Abortions

Last Week: Molecular Biology & Other Science Sheds Light on Abortion


The following is from Section II.B.2 on the findings of the report: ===================================

DNA fingerprinting and the refinement of it by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)techniques developed in the mid-1990s have proven that each human being is totally unique immediately at fertilization. Dr. Mark explained that the invention and widespread use of the DNA techniques such as restriction enzymes, DNA cloning, DNA sequencing, and Southern Blotting provided scientists with the ability to clone human DNA and study the organization of the genes encoded by DNA. This resulted in many discoveries in the mid-1980s leading to the finding that individual species DNA bands can be observed as a fingerprint of an individual human being. A child's DNA fingerprint is completely unique.

The invention of the PCR techniques has led to further refinements of the DNA fingerprinting techniques, which has given science the ability to obtain a human being's DNA fingerprinting – and therefore his or her identity – from a single cell.

There can no longer be any doubt that each human being is totally unique from the very beginning of his or her life at fertilization. (Mark, P. 19-21.)

The significance of methylation of cytosine was unknown until 1985. It has a profound significance in understanding the wholeness or completeness of a human being immediately following conception. Cytosine is one of the four base components of DNA. Methylation of cytosine, just as other methods of gene regulation, is a natural method by which genetic information is periodically silenced or activated for purposes of human development. Understanding how the genetic information contained in each human being's DNA is activated and how that information is programmed for life is essential to understanding that the human being is whole and complete at fertilization.

A human being at an embryonic age and that human being at an adult age are naturally the same, the biological differences are due only to the differences in maturity. Changes in methylation of cytosine demonstrate that the human being is fully programmed for human growth and development for his or her entire life at the one cell age. (Mark, P. 21-25.)

Although the material messenger RNA initially present in the fertilized egg can provide the basic functions necessary to transcribe the child's DNA in the initial one or two cell divisions immediately following fertilization, these messenger RNAs are quickly degraded and lost after the first two rounds of cell division, and the housekeeping genes in the child's own DNA are transcribed into messenger RNA at that point. This newly synthesized RNA directs the program of global demethylation of genes so that they can be activated to replenish the functions lost after the degradation of the maternal RNA. Modern molecular biology has discovered that by the third cell division (long before implantation) all control of growth and development are established by the child's DNA. This means that immediately after conception, all programming for growth of the human being is self-contained. (Mark, P. 26.)

At the pre-implantation age, the child synthesizes a platelet activating factor (PAF)(discovered by O'Neil in 1991), beginning at the one cell age, that enhances the child's ability to implant into his or her mother's uterine wall; and at 7.5 days old, before implantation into the uterus, the child begins to produce an enzyme (IDO) that inhibits the mother's immune system from attacking and rejecting the child (discovered by Mann, et al in 1998). (Mark, P. 25-26.)

Molecular biology has also revealed information about chemical reactions within the unborn child that assist the child to adjust to its environment and defend itself from painful stimuli. The role of substance P in pain transmission through activation of a sub-population of the primary afferent c nerve fibers has been recently understood and documented in the 1990s.The presence of substance P, known to be a pain transmitter, was not observed in the human being during gestation until the late 1980s. The discoveries concerning neuropeptides, enkephalin and beta-endorphin, pain modulators, natural pain inhibitors, as found in the unborn child, is discussed in Section II-H of this Report, along with studies done in the 1990s that measured fetal plasma cortical and beta endorphin responses to painful stimuli given to the fetus in utero. (Mark, P. 27, 28, Par. 9 to 11.)

*Emphasis added

The 2005 South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion was created when the South Dakota legislature passed HB 1233 with a bipartisan majority in both houses. The purpose of the task force was "to study abortion and to provide for its composition, scope, and administration." The report was completed in December 2005 after several months of meetings.

Light a Candle to See the Sun

American Minute from William J. Federer

The father of the American space program died JUNE 16, 1977.

He developed the V-2 rocket for Germany before emigrating to the US, where in 1958, he launched America's first satellite. He was director of NASA and the U.S. guided missile program. His name was Wernher von Braun.

Founder of the National Space Institute, Wernher von Braun stated: "The laws of nature that enable us to fly to the Moon also enable us to destroy our home planet with the atom bomb. Science itself does not address the question whether we should use the power at our disposal for good or for evil. The guidelines of what we ought to do are furnished in the moral law of God."

Wernher von Braun continued: "It is no longer enough that we pray that God may be with us on our side. We must learn to pray that we may be on God's side."

To the California State Board of Education, September 14, 1972, Wernher von Braun wrote: "Some...challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we light a candle to see the sun?"

In American Weekly, February 10, 1963, Wernher von Braun wrote: "It is difficult for me to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe...Viewing the awesome reaches of space...should only confirm our belief in the certainty of its Creator."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.

Exhibit not gross, but one of the most fascinating shows I have ever seen

By Gordon Garnos

IT IS NOT VERY often an internationally famous exhibit hits South Dakota. In fact, it's down right seldom such a famous exhibit even comes to our state.

Well, it is happening, starting this month with "Bodies Human" for a five-month run in Watertown. It will be here for our viewing until October. Bus loads, including entire high schools, are already making reservations to visit the exhibit. More about the exhibit later, but first the story behind the exhibit:

DAVID BERRY, an attorney from South Carolina, recently married state Senator Nancy Turbak of Watertown. During his first visit to Watertown he also fell in love with some of Watertown's older buildings, especially a former bank building and the one next to it known as the Goss Building. Both have housed various businesses over the years, but the Goss ballroom has not used for many years and had fallen into disrepair.

The exhibit here this summer is the kick off, or the re-grand opening of both of these buildings and the Goss Ballroom will soon return in all of the splendor it wore a long time ago, thanks to Berry's investment of both time and money. The restoration of these buildings has been a major undertaking.

"BODIES HUMAN" IS one of similar exhibits being viewed around the world. Some people from Watertown visited such an exhibit a while back when it was a major attraction in Minneapolis. Berry and his wife saw a similar exhibit in New York City.

When word first got out what was going to be the exhibit for the grand re-opening words like "gross," "awful" or "grisly" captured the thoughts of some of those who had not seen the exhibit. But, because of a sneak preview, I must say this is one of the most fantastic such attractions touring America today.

Fantastic really doesn't describe it. Maybe "amazing" is a better description. Actually, it is an educational display that features human bodies, bodies preserved in a process called plastination which stops decomposition and prepares these specimens for long-term display. Such displays before they became public were mainly seen by medical students.

THE EXHIBIT CONSISTS of more than 90 individual displays. This includes 11 full-body specimens and about 80 partial specimens. The entire presentation is owned by the Lynx Exhibits of El Paso, Texas, and is on loan to Berry.

The show just arrived in Watertown from Albuquerque, N.M., where it has been for a long stay and where it hosted an average of 3,000 visitors every week.

The plastination laboratory is in Taiwan.

According to Michael Churchman of Lynx Exhibits, the displays are "not particularly gory."

"You walk in and you are just overwhelmed by the beauty and complexity of the human body. the specimens serve as a reminder to the fragility of the human body. For instance, seeing an enlarged heart as compared to a normal, healthy one speaks to the consequences of obesity. A damaged lung illustrates the effects of smoking. Actually seeing those things literally in the flesh serves as a graphic realization of what they can cause."

"EFFECTS OF SMOKING" caught my attention having got smart 30 or so years ago when I ditched the habit.

Overall, one could describe the exhibit as very dramatic, an educational tool for all ages.

I would be remiss while pushing the Bodies Human exhibit and didn't point out a few other attractions in my second hometown of Watertown. Of course the big destination point here is the Redlin Art Center at the corner of I-29 and Highway 212, and I can't forget our Bramble Park Zoo, the Mellette House, the home of Dakota Territory's last governor and South Dakota's first governor, and the Codington County Heritage Museum. If you want to take a plunge, try our new swimming pool or our beautiful Lake Kampeska.

If you are going to plan a trip to our community, I know it will welcome you. The friendly motels, restaurants and merchants here are waiting to serve you. And just in case you have put off a longer trip this summer because of the gas prices, put down Watertown for a day or a week or more. I know you will enjoy yourself.

So, if you plan to visit Watertown to see the Bodies Human or one of our other attractions we look forward to seeing you. The welcome mat is out....

Gordon Garnos was long-time editor of the Watertown Public Opinion and recently retired after 39 years with that newspaper. Garnos, a lifelong resident of South Dakota except for his military service in the U.S. Air Force, was born and raised in Presho.

Video: Pics from Mars Phoenix Probe

Myth 1: Atheists Are Smarter

Part of a Series

BY Legionary Father Thomas D. Williams

March 23-29, 2008 Issue | Posted 3/18/08 at 12:08 PM

It is a common myth of our day, not surprisingly propagated by atheists, that religious believers are undereducated folk who have abandoned the use of reason in favor of blind faith.

So in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris writes that because of the religious belief of its citizens, the United States appears to the rest of the world “like a lumbering, bellicose, dim-witted giant.”

It is not surprising, in fact, that two of the most prominent neo-atheistic authors, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, are British, representing an island known in our day for its religious indifference.

I have lived in Europe for 17 years, and there is no question that Americans’ unapologetic religiosity makes Europeans uncomfortable.

Yet many eminent thinkers throughout our history, such as Alexis de Tocqueville, have interpreted religious conviction to be America’s greatest strength.

To read more, go to National Catholic Register .

Arthur C. Clark Dead at 90

According to the Times Online, science fiction author Arthur C. Clark has died at age 90. He died of what the article calls a "cardio-respiratory attack."

Clark was one of the pioneers of science fiction. He wrote over 100 books, including perhaps his most famous which was made into a classic movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick.

The piece says he was sometimes known as one of the "Big Three" of sci-fi, alongside Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.

I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on by these three incredible writers. They shaped my imagination, and there will probably never be science fiction again the way these grand masters wrote it.

Beaming Wireless Electricity

This is exceedingly cool! From the Daily Mail:

The phenomenon, called electromagnetic induction, is used in power transformers and electric motors around the world.

However, the coils in motors and transformers have to be close for power to pass from one to another. Attempting to transfer power over distances is impossible.

The breakthrough came when Dr Soljacic realised there was another way of transferring energy through the air.

Rather than sending power from a transmitter to a receiver as a conventional electromagnetic wave - the same form of radiation as light, radio waves and microwaves - he could use the transmitter to fill a room with a 'non-radiative' electromagnetic field.

Most objects in the room - such as people, desks and carpets - would be unaffected by the electromagnetic field. But any objects designed to resonate with the electromagnetic field would absorb the energy.

The Independent does point out a problem with the effectiveness of the breakthrough:

However, up to 45 per cent of the transmitted power was lost before it reached the lightbulb, and Professor Soljacic said the system needed to be twice as efficient before it would be as effective as chemical batteries.

It's still pretty amazing. I've been thinking for years that something like this should be possible. What an exciting time in which to live!

Dry Spells Not New

Some are trying to blame the drought we've had in South Dakota in recent years on the myth of anthropogenic global warming.

A couple of stories yesterday throw water on that drought connection.

One from the New Scientist says a dry spell had something to do with the demise of the Neanderthals.

Another from the Arizona Daily Star says a 60-year-long drought hit the Colorado River area in the 12th Century.

But we can get more mileage out of Marxist, anti-business goals when we blame anthropogenic global warming than accepting the scientific evidence which indicates natural climate cycles and/or solar activity.

Going Uphill in a Downhill World

Babu Ranganathan's latest piece at the Conservative Voice examines "entropy and evolution."

In it, he examines one of the reasons why evolution just isn't viable from a scientific standpoint:

The sequence of molecules in DNA (the genetic code) determines the sequence of molecules in proteins. Furthermore, without DNA there cannot be RNA, but without RNA there cannot be DNA. Without either DNA or RNA there cannot be proteins, but without proteins there cannot be either DNA or RNA. These complex molecules are all mutually dependent upon one another for existence!

If the cell had evolved it would have had to be all at once. A partially evolved cell cannot wait millions of years to become complete because it would be highly unstable and quickly disintegrate in the open environment, especially without the protection of a complete and fully functioning cell membrane.

Of course, once there is a complete and living cell then the genetic program and various biological mechanisms exist to direct the formation of more cells with their own genetic programs and biological mechanisms. The question is how did life come about when there were no directing mechanisms.

The great British scientist Sir Frederick Hoyle has said that the mathematical probability of the sequence of molecules in the simplest cell occurring by chance is 10 to the 40,000th power or roughly equivalent to a tornado going through a junk yard of airplane parts and assembling a 747 Jumbo Jet. It is not rational to put faith in such odds for the origin of life.

It requires more faith to believe in evolution, naturalism and materialism than it does to believe in creation.

Lacking Gravitas

Hmmmm. I am continually amazed at how little we know about God's universe.

From Fox News:

A mysterious dip in gravity over northern Canada has long been a weighty topic for some scientists.

Satellite data indicates that that a massive ice sheet that once covered eastern North America is at least the partial cause of this gravitational anomaly.

Scientists have known that the area around Hudson Bay has lower gravity than the surrounding areas.

Read the whole strange story here.

Dating Methods Unreliable

Answers In Genesis has a good piece on their website today dealing with the accuracy problems inherent in radiometric dating techniques.

The piece is a response to some feedback received from a Christian chemical engineer who is apparently unaware of those dating problems, and unaware that "science" and "naturalism" are two different things.

Here's something most people are unaware of regarding C14 dating:

This uniformitarian method of radiometric dating is not used to date rocks and fossils because of its short half-life of around 5,730 years. Carbon-14 dating can only give a maximum age of 100,000 years. So, it is generally not used to date fossils that are supposedly millions or billions of years old because it is assumed there is no C-14 present. Rocks are not typically dated with C-14 as there is little to no Carbon in most fossil-bearing rock to begin with. However, scientists have now found that C-14 has been found in coal that is allegedly millions of years old.

It also examines the Potassium-Argon and Uranium-Lead dating methods used on inorganic material.

Read the whole thing here.

A Scientist Who Believes in God

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, talks about his faith in God.

He believes in theistic evolution (i.e. God created the universe, then set evolution in motion millions of years ago), and I disagree with him there, but this piece remains very instructive about how faith and science are not mutually exclusive.

Some excerpts from CNN:

As a believer, I see DNA, the information molecule of all living things, as God's language, and the elegance and complexity of our own bodies and the rest of nature as a reflection of God's plan.

I did not always embrace these perspectives. As a graduate student in physical chemistry in the 1970s, I was an atheist, finding no reason to postulate the existence of any truths outside of mathematics, physics and chemistry.

I had always assumed that faith was based on purely emotional and irrational arguments, and was astounded to discover, initially in the writings of the Oxford scholar C.S. Lewis and subsequently from many other sources, that one could build a very strong case for the plausibility of the existence of God on purely rational grounds.

Here, Dr. Collins briefly discusses his belief in theistic evolution:

So attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer.

It's true that God COULD have used evolution as an engine for biological change. But the claims of evolution and an incredibly ancient earth are completely incompatible with the Bible. So when you carefully examine the theology of the Bible, you end up having to choose one or the other (as I did about 10 years ago). But their remain plenty of scientific explanations for the universe as we observe it, even explaining why some evidence can be incorrectly interpreted as supporting an ancient earth.

Dr. Collins' final word on the excitement and wonder of knowing the Creator and investigating His genius:

I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.

No Global Warming in Hurricanes

Hurricane expert Chris Landsea, the science and operations director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, debunks the mythical connection between hurricanes and global warming. He says in today's Myrtle Beach Online:

Further study continues to show that hurricane activity occurs in cycles of 20 to 45 years, he said. Even though the seasons of 2004, when four hurricanes bashed Florida, and 2005, when Katrina devastated New Orleans and neighboring parts of the Gulf Coast, seemed shocking, they were no more intense than some storms in the early part of the 20th century and in the 1930s, Landsea said.

The 1926-1935 period was worse for hurricanes than the past 10 years and 1900-1905 was almost as bad, he said. So it is not true that there is a trend of more and stronger hurricanes.

'It's not a trend, it's a cycle: 20-45 years quiet, 20-45 years busy,' Landsea said. Scientists currently have no idea what causes the time period.

If you think I'm beating the "global warming is malarkey" drum too much, it's because the Marxist global warming disciples have beat their drum for so long that I'm tired of it.

It's time to let the hot air out of this liberal fantasy.

I Love It

Global warming hearing cancelled because it's too cold.

From Drudge:

The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather. The hearing is entitled “Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?”

The hearing will be rescheduled to a date and time to be announced later.

More Scientists Question Global Warming

That "settled science" isn't so settled, is it?

From the Hindustan Times:

Raina told the Hindustan Times that out of 9,575 glaciers in India, till date, research has been conducted only on about 50. Nearly 200 years data has shown that nothing abnormal has occurred in any of these glaciers.

It is simple. The issue of glacial retreat is being sensationalised by a few individuals, the septuagenarian Raina claimed. Throwing a gauntlet to the alarmist, he said the issue should be debated threadbare before drawing a conclusion.

This whole global warming hysteria is just anti-business and anti-Western hype.

Global Warming: The Unsettled Settled Science

More dissent on the "settled science" of global warming. From the UK Times "An experiment that hints we are wrong on climate change:"

Twenty years ago, climate research became politicised in favour of one particular hypothesis, which redefined the subject as the study of the effect of greenhouse gases. As a result, the rebellious spirits essential for innovative and trustworthy science are greeted with impediments to their research careers. And while the media usually find mavericks at least entertaining, in this case they often imagine that anyone who doubts the hypothesis of man-made global warming must be in the pay of the oil companies. As a result, some key discoveries in climate research go almost unreported.

Enthusiasm for the global-warming scare also ensures that heatwaves make headlines, while contrary symptoms, such as this winter’s billion-dollar loss of Californian crops to unusual frost, are relegated to the business pages. The early arrival of migrant birds in spring provides colourful evidence for a recent warming of the northern lands. But did anyone tell you that in east Antarctica the Adélie penguins and Cape petrels are turning up at their spring nesting sites around nine days later than they did 50 years ago? While sea-ice has diminished in the Arctic since 1978, it has grown by 8% in the Southern Ocean.

So one awkward question you can ask, when you’re forking out those extra taxes for climate change, is “Why is east Antarctica getting colder?” It makes no sense at all if carbon dioxide is driving global warming. While you’re at it, you might inquire whether Gordon Brown will give you a refund if it’s confirmed that global warming has stopped. The best measurements of global air temperatures come from American weather satellites, and they show wobbles but no overall change since 1999.

New York Deep in the Grip of Climate Change

Gotta love that global warming...