Corbett official resigns over writings

The state's Department of Welfare has been in the news lately for its new rules on food stamps, cutting people out of the food program who have more than $2,000 in savings/assets. (State Sen. Jim Ferlo: not a fan.) Now it's in the Inquirer for another reason -- a top Corbett administration welfare advisor, Robert W. Patterson, "resigned his $104,470 position Tuesday after questions were raised about his outside role as editor of a conservative faith-based journal."

Here's a sampling of some of the man's writings in "The Family In America", via Angela Couloumbis and Amy Worden:

Patterson began writing for The Family in America in 2004 and became its editor in 2009, according to the publication's website. The journal is the flagship publication of the Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Ill., which opposes abortion, divorce, and homosexuality and advocates for the "child-rich, married-parent" family. Patterson is also an adjunct research fellow there, according to the center's website.

In last year's spring issue of the journal, Patterson co-authored a piece summarizing and reviewing recent studies related to families.

Among them: a recent study suggesting condom use robs a woman of "remarkable" chemicals found in semen that have been shown to elevate mood and self-esteem.

What's more, the study found that "semen-exposed women" perform better on concentration and cognitive tasks, Patterson reported.

He also referenced a 2004 study that suggested birth-control pills weakened a woman's "natural sense of attraction to men who would be a good biological match and enable her to conceive easily and bear healthy children."