From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V11 #81 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Saturday, March 9 2002 Volume 11 : Number 081 Today's Subjects: ----------------- feg ["Snow Drop" ] the rhythm method [drew ] mahna mahna? [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] go eesti young man [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Re: the rhythm method [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] Eno commercial alert [] Re: fegmaniax-digest V11 #80 [DDerosa5@aol.com] I Dream of Bewitched and thoughts on religion in the U.S. of A. [Jill Bra] Re: Da Da Da, ooops ["Maximilian Lang" ] Re: Hail, hail Estonia ["Roberta Cowan" ] on second thought ["Roberta Cowan" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002 20:47:57 +0000 From: "Snow Drop" Subject: feg gMs gNat: >I've been thinking of calling my band The Palmer Method. Nobody >around here seems to know what it is. I bet some of you do, though. Since Im at work Ill take a stab at it as long as it dosn't mean working--i.e., looking anything up. 19th Century method of handwritting, also euphamism for mastrubation? - --------- James: >60s sitcoms had > premises that were barking before the show even started . Thanks Ross for adding "My Favorite Martian" But no mention of the immortal stinker(in more ways than one)"My Mother, The Car." More James: >It was a bad day, Hope things are better. Kay _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 13:28:04 -0800 From: drew Subject: the rhythm method That's what I want to call _my_ band. Is your band emo, Natalie? > From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey > > Currently riding high on the best-seller lists in the US is a repugnant > screed by Pat Buchanan, preaching that the nation is going to hell > because > [...] > As I said, this is a best-seller. What were we saying about the minimal > influence of religion in the US? Isn't Michael Moore's book (Stupid White Men) also on the bestseller list? Shit, and Anne Rice's vampire novels were also bestsellers! That must mean the country is filled with religious left-wing vampires! Hey...cool. Anyway. I hope you all realize that personally I think any Christian (I don't know why we keep saying "religion" as if there is only one) social influence in the US is too much. It's just that I think we'd be living in a very different country if the Jesus Fan Club were more pervasive than it is. Drew ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 11:13:18 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: mahna mahna? >> Or to put it another way, what do you know of the history of the Bible? >> How many of the 'lost' gospels have you read? Do you know of any of the >> alternative translations, or any of the passages of the Bible expunged >> from the text in the first few centuries of the Christian era? > >Are you going to ostracise me if I haven't? of course not. >I have read the book of enoch >and gospels of thomas and a couple others, plus of course what I could of >the dead sea scrolls and original use word tracking with translation aids That probably puts you in a very small minority of people. All I'm saying is that most Christians don't really know a lot of the history behind what they're scriptures say. >> no. I mean true fundamentalism. The acceptance of every word of scripture >> as being (if you'll pardon the term) the gospel truth. > >That would be Christian Fundamentalism, not fundamentalism. here's a little dictionary definition for you: fundamentalism, n. 1) Belief in the Bible as factual historical record and incontrovertible prophecy, including such doctrines as the creation, the Virgin Birth, and the Second Coming. 2a) (often capital F) a movement based on that belief 2b) adherence to that belief 3) Unswerving belief in a set of basic and unalterable principles oif a religious or philosophical nature, e.g., Moslem fundementalism. >If you want discussion on a particular topic to end, the first thing you >should do is stop discussing that topic. okay. I'll ignore comments on this subject from now on. Will you do the same? James James Dignan, Dunedin, New Zealand. =-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= .-=-.-=-.-=-.- .-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-. -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= You talk to me as if from a distance =-.-=-. And I reply with impressions chosen from another time -=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=- (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 11:14:15 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: go eesti young man >>Years ago a man I knew enlisted in the Peace Corps and ended up in >> >Estonia. "Their national pastime is despair," he said. > >Most of my ancestors are from Estonia. This explains a LOT about me. > >I still don't like beets, though. same with Alice (we're still trying to trace the Estonian ancestral link). >Hogans Heros seemd almost like part of a project to erase the holocaust. I don't think the guy who played Le Beau would agree with you there. >Think I'm exaggerating? "If the West expects a long life, it had best >recapture the fighting faith of its youth.... The Christianity that >conquered the world was not a milquetoast faith, and the custodians of >that faith did not believe all religions were equal. One was true; all the >rest were false.... Protestant monarchs and Catholic kings alike did not >flinch at burning heretics or drawing and quartering them at the Tyburn >tree." (straight line cue) hm... I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition... James nf - three horizontal stripes, light blue over black over white. Very attractive it is, too. James Dignan, Dunedin, New Zealand. =-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= .-=-.-=-.-=-.- .-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-. -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= You talk to me as if from a distance =-.-=-. And I reply with impressions chosen from another time -=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=- (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 16:15:35 -0600 (CST) From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: the rhythm method On Sat, 9 Mar 2002, drew wrote: > > From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey > > > > Currently riding high on the best-seller lists in the US is a repugnant > > screed by Pat Buchanan, preaching that the nation is going to hell > > Isn't Michael Moore's book (Stupid White Men) also on the bestseller > list? Shit, and Anne Rice's vampire novels were also bestsellers! > That must mean the country is filled with religious left-wing vampires! Okay, fair enough - I certainly wasn't claiming that *everything* on the best seller list reflects everyone's beliefs. (Fairly notoriously, the larger books on the best-seller list are purchased more or less to be hip...and often remain unread past the first few pages.) But Buchanan's presence on that list, and on talk shows, suggests that his views are acceptable enough to be part of the common discourse...in a way that, say, thoughts as extremely atheistic as his are "Christian," or as left-wing is he is right-wing, would not be. (And of course, there's the whole celebrity aspect to contend with: if Buchanan's book were written by Philboyd Studge, people probably *would* think Studge is a loony - and the same, I hear, is true of Moore's book, even though I'm *generally* way more simpatico w/views closer to Moore's than to Buchanan's.) - --Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society www.uwm.edu/~jenor/ADS.html ::I can bellow like a clown school drill instructor:: __Brian Block__ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 00:21:09 -0000 From: Subject: Eno commercial alert Since there are quite a few people with interest in Eno on this list... I spotted a BMW commerical playing on ESPN or ESPN2 this afternoon during its NCAA tournaments basketball coverage that used "The Big Ship" throughout most of the spot. The ad begins by showing this slick black BMW speeding majestically through the countryside while this rhapsodic male voice describes the thrill of driving it various places, as the music swells in the background. Then it all comes to halt with words "--and you're there." Cut to tight shot of said pilot-handsome narrator sitting in the drivers seat of the BMW with his window rolled down -- it turns out he's been giving directions to a nonplussed older couple who then mutter, "Er, okay, thanks," and drive off. Haven't been able to find it online yet. Marshall np Carla Bley/Paul Haines, _Escalator Over The Hill_ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 19:21:04 EST From: DDerosa5@aol.com Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V11 #80 hey there, I haven't written in to the list in approximately forever, but just thought I'd throw out that I now have a newborn son and proto-Robyn fan, named Mario and born Wednesday march 6. He's already pushy--was born, at home, posterior with the cord wrapped around his neck four times, so like he came with his own noose. Needed resuscitation, and they started punching with his very long arms. OK, going to bed now. (Perhaps I see what all the fuss was about...) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 21:43:42 -0500 (EST) From: Jill Brand Subject: I Dream of Bewitched and thoughts on religion in the U.S. of A. I hadn't seen any of these 60s sitcoms in ages when someone started this thread, but my daughter has been home sick all week (my school vacation week - someone please feel sorry for me), and I gave up on intellectual stimulation (which included hours of Mad Libs, Mummy Rummy, readings of Tales of the Ancient Egyptians, and Yahtzee) and decided to fuck all and let her watch as much goddamned TV as she wanted. And lo, there were both Bewitched and I Dream of Genie. The premises are the same - magic person in house whose identity must remain secret. I'm not sure how much this reflected the ethos of the era or the pocketbook of the producers. Simply said, if the identities of Samantha and Genie had been revealed...there would have been no show. No? As for religion in these here United States, I think that any analysis has to be regional. From where I sit, everyone seems to be Catholic or Mormon (some may raise their eyebrows at this - what Mormons dwell in Massachusetts? Well, the *only* Mormon temple in the northeast is right here in Belmont, MA). Nary a born again in sight. When I grew up in Brooklyn, many stores were closed on Saturdays for observance of the Jewish sabbath. And when I lived in Colorado, I felt greater culture shock than I did while living in Germany because people toted their bibles around with them everywhere. The US is a BIG PLACE. I don't know more than three people who voted for GWB; the reverse is probably true in Billings, Montana (and we have established that religious leanings were reflected in the last presidential election). So I think that any lump-categorizing about the role of religion in the life of a US American will, at best, be simplistic. As for Harry Potter, I love those books to death, but I still have trouble with their Christmas celebrations. They seem incongruous. I want to see Robyn in April. Waaaaaahhhh!!!!! Jill ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002 22:32:09 -0500 From: "Maximilian Lang" Subject: Re: Da Da Da, ooops >From: gSs >Reply-To: gSs >To: fegmaniax@smoe.org >Subject: Da Da Da, ooops >Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 13:44:54 -0500 (CDT) > >On Fri, 8 Mar 2002, James Dignan wrote: > > Or to put it another way, what do you know of the history of the Bible? > > How many of the 'lost' gospels have you read? Do you know of any of the > > alternative translations, or any of the passages of the Bible expunged > > from the text in the first few centuries of the Christian era? > >Are you going to ostracise me if I haven't? I have read the book of enoch >and gospels of thomas and a couple others, plus of course what I could of >the dead sea scrolls and original use word tracking with translation aids >and it was about as fulfilling as beowolf. I don't think any of them were >actually lost anyway, were they? > >Just a bunch more 'and so it came upon the sons of Neriah that their >father's tribes had done more sin than all of Abraham's daughters combined >and now Zion is awash with enemy captives and so finally the king >of Babylon can get some fucking rest.' > >If would be like discovering some long forgotten parts of the beowolf >epic. It makes such an insignificant difference that most people don't >give it a thought. > >Please reread the sentence: > >"The genius of America is the separation of church and state, which >minimizes the role of religion as an arbiter of social behavior. In truth, >while majorities mention God, few in the western world fight for God." by >Dave Faries > >The scriptures have little to do with social behaviour in the us beyond >possibly the golden rule, at least when applied. But then that rule covers >just about everything. > >So that could mean that any one who is kind and considerate and >honest etc... is actually living by the word of Jesus Christ as >that was one of his main hooks, wasn't it? > > > no. I mean true fundamentalism. The acceptance of every word of >scripture > > as being (if you'll pardon the term) the gospel truth. > >That would be Christian Fundamentalism, not fundamentalism. > > > This is the time when you think that religion played more of a role in > > societal norms than today? Interesting. > >The rate of teen pregnancies, infidelity and casual drug use is much >higher now in the US than it was then, along with lawlessness in general. >Which are all some of the most essential things the bible teaches against. > > > ps - can we stop this? it's no fun, it must be boring the rest of the >list, > >If you want discussion on a particular topic to end, the first thing you >should do is stop discussing that topic. > >gSs Here I was all excited because I thought this was an email about Trio... I met Klaus Vormann today. He was Trio's producer...nevermind. Max _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 22:57:12 -0500 From: "Roberta Cowan" Subject: Re: Hail, hail Estonia On Fri, 8 Mar 2002, Natalie Jane wrote: > p.s. I've been thinking of calling my band The Palmer Method. Nobody > around here seems to know what it is. I bet some of you do, though. When I read those words I typed "Palmer Method" into Google and this was the first thing that came up: http://www.chirobase.org/05RB/BCC/11a.html It seemed to fit so perfectly I assumed immediately it was what you were referring to. Eh Gnat? It does make a great name for your band! Roberta np: Genesis--Selling England By the Pound -- I haven't heard it for awhile and it suits the mood of my evening perfectly. Besides "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" was running through my head all day at work. 8-) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 23:09:44 -0500 From: "Roberta Cowan" Subject: on second thought Isn't it about time for a digest to spit out? Bonesetting, Chiropractic, and Cultism Chapter 11: Chiropractic "Technique Wars" The Palmer Method )1963, Samuel Homola, D.C. The Palmer School of Chiropractic is one of the first schools of chiropractic and is, today, the largest. The school, founded by the founder of chiropractic, teaches a system of spinal adjustment called the H.I.O. ("hole in one")," whereby the atlas (the first vertebra at the top of the spine) is adjusted in different directions, depending upon measurements made on an X-ray film. (The neologism "Hole-In-One" was originally coined to imply that a perfect adjustment in the upper cervical region of the neck would cause everything else to "fall into place.") Palmer maintained that only the atlas could misalign itself, or cause misalignment below that point, thus putting pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves and causing disease. This new theory was considered by many to be a "dirty trick" on the thousands of chiropractors graduated by Palmer in years past and who had been completely convinced that vertebrae out-of-place at different points in the spine caused certain diseases -- that it was necessary to adjust those specific vertebrae in order to cure these diseases. The introduction of B.J. Palmer's new theory that misalignment of the atlas was the primary factor in the production of disease, and that such disease could not be cured unless the atlas was corrected, meant that all chiropractors were giving the wrong treatment unless they took additional training in the "latest findings of chiropractic." Needless to say, the "new theory" brought back many postgraduate students and attracted many new students to the Palmer School. One of the strange contradictions surrounding the behavior of many chiropractors who claim miraculous cures and unbending faith in their particular treatment method lies in the apparent willingness of these practitioners to switch their treatment methods and adopt new theories. While chiropractors claim that the growth of chiropractic in its early days took place simply because chiropractors cured those patients medical science failed to cure, we learn, years later, from the "Fountain Head of Chiropractic" (the Palmer School) that, until practitioners adopted the Palmer method of correcting the atlas, no chiropractor could remove the primary cause of disease. Up until that time, chiropractors had simply followed the "meric system" of adjusting (a system designating a certain vertebra for a certain organ or disease, similar to the chart given earlier). This contradiction in behavior and claims is also evident in the activities of many present-day chiropractors who eagerly enroll in one technique course after the other and who claim supreme healing powers for each new technique they employ. It is difficult to determine whether such practitioners are naively sincere or whether they are simply gullible. Undoubtedly, disappointment is an element underlying the readiness of many chiropractic practitioners to change treatment methods, notwithstanding statements to the contrary. There are probably many chiropractors who find it financially beneficial (and professionally "face-saving") to adopt new theories and techniques when the old ones have failed to cure their patients. Needless to say, the special technique taught at the Palmer School for correcting misalignment of the atlas, and the introduction of patented devices designed to locate misaligned vertebrae and nerve interference, proved to be a boon for the Palmer School. Still promoting the H.I.O. theory in 1959, B.J. Palmer proclaimed: The primary, causative vertebral subluxation can be only where there are no intervertebral osseous locks, viz., between occiput, atlas, and axis, except for the odontoid which prevents one direction only. The only place a causative vertebral subluxation can be adjusted is in that area. The statement needs some modification. That primary superior subluxation can and often does produce some vertebral traumatism or pathology of vertebrae inferior to that area. Such conditions can and do occasionally occlude foramina, produce pressure upon nerves, and create a secondary traumatic or pathological interference, which temporarily needs correction until such time as the superior primary factor is corrected and restores health to the lower and inferior pathologies [1]. This theory is expressed in a technique whereby the chiropractor places the heel of his hand immediately beneath the patient's ear on one side and, gripping the wrist of that hand with the other hand, applies a sudden thrust against the side of the neck. The patient is positioned on his side with his head supported on an elevated headpiece. The atlas, being partially protected from outside pressure by bony portions of the skull (the styloid and mastoid portions of the temporal bone project down just behind the ear on each side, virtually covering the lateral aspect of the atlas), is almost inaccessible to direct pressure applied through overlying tissues. Although there are other methods of "adjusting the atlas," such as rotating the skull on the atlas, or rotating the atlas by rotating the neck, most of which are quite safe when they are properly performed, attempts to "push" the atlas one way or another with the heel of the hand (the pisiform bone) are still very common in chiropractic offices. Since the atlas is so deeply situated beneath the skull and overlying tissues, attempts to thrust against the atlas with the patient's head backed up by a supporting headpiece could very well result in a mechanical transfer of force to lower, more flexible vertebral joints. Although the Palmer School still teaches the H.I.O. system, and continues to support the largest enrollment of chiropractic students, impressions are occasionally presented to indicate that the school is again returning to examination of the entire spine in searching for "primary, causative vertebral subluxations." In a 1958 issue of the International Review of Chiropractic, for example, a Palmer School instructor in technique reported that, in the Palmer School: Probably the most significant change within the last two years has been that of attitude. This is reflected throughout the faculty, student body, and field. It can be said, without fear of contradiction, that our faculty is more united than ever in a dual cause; first, that of searching out and correcting all interference, and second, that of training the PSC student to do likewise." [2] This statement is particularly interesting when we recall the more recent statement made by B.J. Palmer himself to the effect that the only place a "primary, causative vertebral subluxation" can exist is in the area of the atlas. Thus, when the Palmer School proposes to "adjust where and when we find provable pressure, and how it shall be done most effectively," this apparently does not necessarily mean a withdrawal from Palmer's H.I.O. doctrine. Emphasizing a "change of attitude," the Palmer instructor went on to say that the school's renewed efforts to remove nerve interference where it is found -- by the most effective method possible -- is not a return to the "practice of Meric Chiropractic as it was practiced in the '20s." Regardless of any changes in treatment methods that might have taken place at the Palmer School over the years, the fundamental philosophy of chiropractic has remained the same. An early catalogue of the school, for example, stated as follows: We do not waste valuable time in observing healthy and morbid tissue under the microscope, we do not bother with the compounding of chemicals or the analysis of secretions and excretions. Palmer School of Chiropractic students save time and money by omitting these useless studies. The chiropractor does not take the temperature, the sputum is not examined, he never taps the chest or stethoscopically listens as in auscultation -- he never looks at the tongue -- in fact, he makes no diagnosis or examination [3]. Needless to say, the attraction of such an "easy practice" found the approval of large numbers of would-be doctors in the early 1900's. Not until October 1950 did the Palmer School raise its course of education from eighteen months to four years. For some time prior to that date, one could take an 18-month course or a four-year course, depending upon the requirements of the law in the particular state in which the chiropractor those to practice. In 1950, the four-year course became mandatory, primarily because all but a few states required that licensed chiropractors have at least four years of training. In making claims just as sensational as those made in early catalogues, a 1958 catalogue stated: Although a sick person would come to the clinic incapable of reciting symptoms, the staff could establish medically what conditions of disease the patient suffered from; could prove chiropractically what was the cause of that condition of disease and could, without having once talked with the patient, chiropractically, restore the sick person to health and establish scientifically how the restoration to health had been accomplished. . . . The precision instruments, especially built for the clinic to detect pressure and measure nerve energy flow, were designed to rule out any human tendency to err [4]. In showing an improvement for the better, however, a 1962-63 catalogue of the Palmer School left out the statements above, and listed the inclusion of certain liberal arts courses in the Palmer curriculum, thus departing somewhat from the contentions of B.J. Palmer, who consistently maintained that "These unnecessary subjects never were necessary in olden days; neither are they helpful today." [1] Dr. B.J. Palmer died of cancer on May 27, 1961; he was 79 years old. Today, the Department of Chiropractic Philosophy at Palmer College "stresses the teachings of this man who was, until his death, the foremost authority in chiropractic." His son, Dr. David Palmer, moved up to assume responsibilities for leadership of the Palmer School. B.J. Palmer apparently stuck to a previously expressed contention that "a simple mind" is the best field for cultivating a chiropractor. To hear the arguments of Palmer, one would think the better-educated man is worse off for his education, and that all educated men are "brain-washed" -- none able to think for themselves and intelligently apply the principles of a broad education. The fact that education changes the chiropractor has already been made evident in some of our earlier discussions. The entire problem was one of survival in the mind of B.J. Palmer-a preservation of the ideas and principles promoted by his father. Chiropractic must remain chiropractic in order to survive as a "separate and original healing art," and the only thing original in chiropractic is the doctrine of vertebral misalignment as a universal cause of disease -- the cure of such disease being effected only by spinal manipulation. In routine manipulation of the "atlas, axis, and occiput," many H.I.O. specialists, as well as chiropractors who work in other areas, measure mechanical distortions of perfectly normal and freely movable spinal joints and then "adjust" them in order to "remove the cause" of the patient's disease. Occasionally, joints of the spine, especially those in the neck, do become fixed, subluxated, dislocated, diseased, or injured, but these conditions are obvious to any orthopedic Specialist and are not often a cause of a remote disease process. The symptoms associated with such obvious and often acute joint disturbances are sometimes so painful that the patient is driven to a physician for relief of the pain. In the absence of actual disease, the routine use of heat, traction, and rest (and sometimes support) will usually correct the disturbance. If, as many chiropractors maintain, people go to chiropractors only as a last resort, it seems likely that a chiropractor rarely gets an opportunity to manipulate a truly subluxated joint. I have seen chiropractic patients who have been repeatedly manipulated over normal joints so long and so frequently that strain, traumatic arthritis and other disturbances have developed as a result, with the patient continuing the treatment under the false belief that the treatments will keep the condition from getting too bad. The cervical (neck) region of the spine, being most accessible to manipulation, is perhaps the area most abused by excessive manipulation. "I have taught for many years that cervical manipulation was 'dynamite,'" said one well-known present-day orthopedic specialist. "I was referring to the facets, foramina, and nerves. One must be especially cautious, because of the disks." [5] The Palmer School of Chiropractic, like the majority of chiropractic schools, does not teach the general use of physiotherapy but sticks primarily to the use of "treatment by hands only," which, as 'we noted earlier, is called "straight chiropractic." None of the chiropractic schools teach medical and surgical methods. "I would rather be a Chiropractor with one simple principle and practice which works, and gets sick people well, and be called 'ignorant,'" said B.J. Palmer, "than a supra-educated medical man with millions of arbitrary and empiric theories, none of which work or get sick people well. . . . The dividing line is sharply drawn -- anything given, applied to, or prescribed from outside-in, below-up, comes within the principle and practice of medicine. None of this does Chiropractic do! Our principle is opposite, antipodal, the reverse, for everything within the chiropractic philosophy, science and art works from above-down, inside-out. Anything and everything outside that scope is medicine, whether you like it or not." [1] Thus, as some chiropractors attempt to change or widen the definition of chiropractic they are continually and painfully reminded of what chiropractic really is by the one man who ought to know: the son of its founder. I once witnessed a humorous demonstration that exemplifies the attitude of the "straight" chiropractor who relies solely on spinal manipulation as a treatment for disease. During an educational session of a large gathering of chiropractors, most of whom practiced "straight" chiropractic, one of the lecturers was so untactful as to extol the virtues of colonic irrigation (mechanical washing out of the lower portion of the large colon), whereupon a practitioner in the audience immediately raised his hand for permission to speak. "Doctor," he asked, "is it possible to wash out a subluxation with a colonic irrigation?" Amidst loud laughter of agreement from the audience, the inquiring chiropractor triumphantly returned to his seat without waiting for an answer to his question. Although it is quite impossible to attach any definite meaning to Palmer's "philosophy," considering the manner in which it is written, he is probably referring to "Innate Intelligence" when he defines the scope of chiropractic as being "from above-down, inside-out." By definition, the term "innate" denotes natural or inborn powers, or the genetic constitution. In chiropractic discussion it seems to mean a "curative power" conveyed over the nervous system from the brain. This curative power is supposedly permitted full and free expression if all "nerve interference is removed." Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathy, also built his system around the idea that the body could cure all of its own ills. Up to a point, of course, this philosophy is all right. It is the method employed by various healing cults to permit or stimulate this inborn healing mechanism that usually makes the cult. According to Palmer, as according to Still, interference with the body's healing powers takes place at the spinal joints. While Still worked from the beginning with the entire spine, as did D.D. Palmer, B.J. Palmer eventually theorized that interference with the nerve supply (the amount of which determined the state of health or disease) took place primarily at the first joint of the spine, irritating the nerves or pressing against the spinal cord just beneath the brain, the source of "Innate Intelligence." If the atlas and its joints were so displaceable as to commonly interfere with the function of the spinal cord, the human race would be a corps of invalids - - victims of an extinguishing measure of nature. References 1. Palmer B.J. Shall Chiropractic Survive? 1st Edition. Davenport, IA: Palmer School of Chiropractic, 1958. 2. International Review of Chiropractic, February 1958. 3. Boyd CE. The Cult of Chiropractic. Louisiana State Medical Society, 1953. 4. Catalogue of the Palmer School of Chiropractic. Davenport, Iowa, 1958. 5. Lewin P. The Back and Its Disc Syndromes, 2nd Edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Febiger, 1955. ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V11 #81 *******************************