An All Souls Day roll call

This is All Souls Day.  For the Catholic side of us, primarily my oldest, this is the time to remember those who have gone before.  A sort of Memorial Day for Christians.  In honor of that, I thought I would list family members of mine who have passed and gone before:

My Dad's father - I knew little of him.  Nicknamed 'Oak', he was an alcoholic and abusive, causing the early death of my grandmother.  He and my Dad were quite estranged, and when he died of cancer, my Dad did not attend the funeral.  I know he served in WWI, in the navy I think, and taught my Dad how to garden.  That is about it.

My Dad's mother - She died when my Dad was serving in the army.  None of us kids knew her.  She was unhealthy, and the abuse escalated her downward spiral.  When my Dad returned from maneuvers, he was met by his company sergeant.  The sergeant told him to report to the company commander.  The sergeant offered to take his rifle and gear, and that's when Dad said he knew something horrible had happened.  When he got to the company commander's office, my Mom was there already.  That's when he heard. I don't think he ever quite got over it.  I think they were quite close.

My Mom's father - I knew him vaguely.  He died when I was five.  They lived in Akron, a couple hours away.  We visited a few times a year.  So there was little there to build a lasting relationship at that young age.  I remember his leg was amputated owing to diabetes.  Back then, not much was known of that disease.  He eventually died from it.  Except for one time when he caused a panic by walking me around the neighborhood without telling anyone, I don't know that we did much together.  I don't remember that, I just know they said that walking around with youngsters was unusual for him.  Except for him working at Firestone and being a WWI vet (serving at Belleau Wood), and being a die-hard Ed Sullivan and Cleveland Browns fan, I know little of him.

My Mom's mother - the only grandparent I actually knew.  There's too much to tell here.  I used to look forward to her and my aunt Dorth coming down to visit.  Likewise, I enjoyed going up to her house. When we did, Mom's whole family would come over and the streets would be lined with cars.  It was one of those magical, albeit fleeting, times one remembers.  She was not a doting grandmother, at least to me.  I came along about eight or nine years after the rest of my cousins, and always felt nobody knew what to do with me.  I was usually relegated to my uncle Walt, who never left home and lived with my grandparents his whole life.  But they did have a lot of fun when they got together, and enough of it rubbed off that I dearly missed her when she finally passed.  It's worth noting that, apart from my own Mom and Dad, she was the only real connection to Christianity that I had.  A firm believer, she also believed in faith healing and, by golly, she went when I was young and was healed of a tumor that the doctors said would never be healed but by surgery.  That left a mark on this little agnostic's mind that has never quite gone away. 

My Aunt Betty - she was the Phyllis Diller of the family, the wild and crazy one (Phyllis Diller was, in fact, her handle during the big CB craze).  A redhead unlike the rest, she had a rough life, abused by her husband and dirt poor, she dealt with her troubles through humor and hijinks. There simply wasn't anything she wouldn't say or do for a laugh.  Her family moved to Florida when I was younger, but she would come up to visit, often coinciding when we would come to visit Grandma.  She brought much humor to a family that often struggled under economic and other troubles.

My Aunt Babe (Kathleen) - she was the sister who my Mom was least close to.  Truth be told, she had  distant air about her.  Her and her husband were about business, and they tended to it well.  They left their children a crap ton of money and property when they passed.  Despite her coldness, she was very giving.  When my Mom couldn't take care of my Grandma (who had dementia) because of my sister's second divorce, my aunt Babe stepped in and watched her until the end.

My Uncle Walt - he was my playmate.  Having only one lung, he was the only male of that generation who didn't serve in WWII.  He was, understandably, the one who spoke most about WWII.  He never left home, and I suppose never held a steady job.  Health seemed to be the issue.  But because he was a bit out of the loop with the others (no spouse, no family), he would play with me and take care of me since most of my cousins and my sister were so much older and didn't want me hanging around. When he passed away when I was in seventh grade, it was the first time I ever cried for someone who died. 

My Uncle Cot (Carlton) - a Goodrich man all the way, he never missed a home Cleveland Browns game, and often went with my Grandpa.  The man never wore jeans.  Even at impromptu family gatherings, he was dressed immaculately.  He was also generous to a fault, and often gave money to his sisters and others who were struggling, without strings attached.  He had a temper, and was stubborn as a mule.  He served in the South Pacific in WWII, and was part of the group that included Thomas Lamphier (the man once credited with shooting down Yamamato, but later found not to have a claim).  When my uncle Walt passed away, he stepped in and tried to fill the gap.  It wasn't his natural way, but his efforts were admirable, and appreciated.

My Uncle Gene - the bona fide war hero of the family.  In WWII, the government looked for anything to award and celebrate for the sake of propaganda and morale.  So my uncle, a radio-gunner on a B17, managed to shoot down - single handedly - a Ju88 that became entangled with their bomb group during one of their missions over Europe.  What a Ju88 was doing there was never determined, but he became the first (perhaps only) gunner to single handedly shoot down a German bomber, and that was enough for bond tours, bond drives, interviews and pep rallies around the country.  It fit him.  With his wavy bond hair, his dapper bomber's crew jacket and cap (always tilted), and his tall, imposing figure, he looked like the type of person Hollywood would pick to play the part.  I always felt my Dad was a bit jealous of him.  Meanwhile, Gene ate it up, but did mellow over the years.  Early on, it was all glorious war stories.  But in the later years, he would reflect on some of what he saw, including being in a V-2 air raid and wondering what it was like for those on the ground when his group was flying overhead.

My Uncle Dana - the flip side of Gene, he was my Dad's other older brother.  He served with Patton in Europe, and was part of the Battle of the Bulge.  He was a medic, since he didn't want to hurt anyone.  What he saw or what he experienced he never said, because he wouldn't speak of his experiences.  The ultimate bull-head, he was known as a gentle soul unless riled, and then heaven help you.  The family often told of a time during Christmas, in downtown Chicago, when a bus driver cut him off.  He swerved his car around, pulled in front of the bus, put the car in park, took out the keys, and sat there.  Traffic was backed up ten miles in minutes.  I didn't know him as well as Gene, but we did visit some.  He was closest to my Dad I think.  Once, when my wife's parents lived in Chicago for a year, we decided to go by and visit Dana, but they weren't home.  We left a message, and they said later they were saddened that they missed us.  Unfortunately, he died of cancer before we could return.  I've always regretted that.  Shortly before he died, he received a belated accommodation for his actions in the Ardennes Offensive.  He called my Dad and asked him what that was about.  Dad explained it was the Battle of the Bulge.  In typical Dana fashion, he said he didn't know what it was called. He just remembered it was bitter cold and they kept shooting at him.  That was probably the most he ever said.

My Uncle Fred - I never knew my uncle Fred that well.  He was younger than my Dad.  It was him joining the army during the Korean war that prompted my Dad to join.  Dad didn't want to be the one Griffey boy who didn't serve.  So they joined together.  They did basic at Fort Knox, albeit in different companies.  My Dad had the tough as nails commander who insisted on double time to everywhere, and midnight marches for fun (up two hills called, appropriately enough, Agony and Misery).  According to my uncles, Fred got to travel in trucks and had it relatively easy by comparison.  He moved out to Denver long before I came along.  That was after Dana moved to Chicago and more or less broke up "the Four Boys."  He got married then divorced, but in the meantime had a slew of kids.  We visited a few times.  I remember how casual they were about being near towering cliffs in the Rockies.  They came to our house a couple times as well. It was their kids, isolated from firearms per Fred's wife, who went bonkers when they saw my Dad's guns.  My parents usually left the guns out because we had been shown what to do with guns; that they weren't toys, and were to be respected.  But because Fred's kids had no knowledge of them, the guns had to be put away while they visited.

My Uncle Mike - if I knew little of uncle Fred, I knew less of uncle Mike.  He was fourteen years younger than my Dad, born well beyond the others. He had it tough, because he was the one who found their Mother dead.  He was then raised by the different older brothers, because of the inability of my Granddad to care for him.  He had a rough life, but enlisted in, and fought in, Vietnam.  Nonetheless, he had it rough, and I think I only met him once my whole life.  Years later, he did contact my Dad by phone and I talked to him, but that's all I remember.  He passed away from cancer some years ago.

My Brother-in-law Nelson - My sister married Nelson after her second failed marriage.  He was almost a dozen years older than her.  Since she is almost nine years older than me, that meant he was well out of my social peers.  But my sister never married a man who got along with me, and Nelson was no different.  A successful businessman, I never asked him for anything, though I did work for him for a bit in college (I did pretty well, making over 7,000.00 in one summer, in mid 1980s dollars).  Nonetheless, he was what he was.  He lost everything shortly before he died, because of a crooked business partner named Gene.  That left my sister needing help from us who could barely scrape two pennies together. Shortly after that Nelson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away the following January. 

My 'Grandma' Gillespie - she was my Aunt Babe's mother-in-law.  Apparently not a popular individual, she nonetheless would babysit me when the rest of the family was engaged in things, such as my Grandpa's funeral.  I remember she made bacon that was barely cooked. Yuck.  But I remember her doing well by me, even though she passed away fairly early on, by the time I was in about high school I believe.

My Uncle Tom - Tom, or 'Big Tom' (as opposed to their son 'Little Tom') was Babe's husband.  He was a businessman's businessman who put business and finances above all things.  He was also known to tip the scales a little in his commercial dealings.  But he did well by his kids, that's for sure.  Of all the 'in-law uncles', he is the one I remember the most.  He served in WWII, in a Stuart tank in N. Africa and Sicily/Italy.  It was he who told of the time that a German motorcyclist crashed into their tank column one night.  Rather than do anything, everyone had a good laugh and let him go. 

My Uncle Carlos - Carlos was our family villain.  He was my aunt Betty's husband.  He drank.  They were poor.  He beat Betty at times and beat the kids at others.  He seemed to have no problem being violent in those days.  Once, it was told, he got mad and threatened to throw Betty out the door.  So angry, he actually brought their furniture over and put it in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard (they lived only a few houses down the street).  According to legend, Grandma was fit to be tied, but Grandpa merely shrugged and said when he settled down, he'd need to take it back himself.  And so he did.  They had the largest family, most of whom were in trouble except their one daughter and one of their sons.  One son was killed in a hit and run when he was a teenager.  There was one set of twins.  Overall we knew little of them because Mom and Dad - I think - felt they were a bit on the wrong side of the tracks.  In hindsight, they probably were right.  But because of this, I think my Mom loved Betty all the more and admired her strength and perseverance.  Eventually, when I was in college, their youngest son came home - himself a fellow who was often in trouble - and found that Carlos had aimed a shotgun at his own stomach and pulled the trigger.  He was still alive, but barely.  He died before the paramedics arrived. Carlos always kept me aware of the fact that if my parents were of a gentle kind, it was not always the case with others, and to always remember what others might be going through.

My Wife's grandmother - my Wife's maternal grandmother, Ol'Mimmy was the closest to my wife.  She was married to a man after whom the Indiana Baptist state mission offering is named.  They were, in Southern Baptist life, veritable giants.  Her husband, CE Wiley, was a firebrand from the old school.  There were two paths in his life: the path to Heaven, and the path to Hell for everyone who wasn't Southern Baptist (that's Southern Baptist, other Baptists didn't count).  He had passed away some years before I met my Wife.  Mimmy was the first of my wife's family to warm up to me.  My wife and I would often visit her when we were dating.  Our first year of marriage, we met up with everyone in Atlanta for Thanksgiving.  When I saw her, I knew she wasn't healthy.  In just six months, she looked like something was wrong.  Then on our first Christmas morning, my wife and I woke up and plunged into the presents like children.  We woke up so early, we then went back and took that late morning nap so common on Christmas mornings.  Then the phone rang.  It was her family.  Mimmy had died that morning.  Their pastor was at the hospital before they arrived.  By the time they got there, she was gone.  That was our first Christmas memory as a married couple.  That week Kentucky was hit with a particularly brutal snowstorm (in preparation for the 1994 blizzard).  My Dad decided to drive down and take us to the funeral in Lexington so we wouldn't have to worry about driving.  So he drove from northern Ohio in snowstorm conditions to make sure we were taken care of when it came to being at the funeral (see Dad below).  It was tough on my wife, but it was my Dad who said for a Christian woman like her, when better to go than on the Lord's birthday. 

My Wife's grandfather - another staple in the Southern Baptist Convention, he oversaw many of the camps for the Indiana Baptist Convention (you can tell us becoming Catholic was a big hit back in the day).  He was my Wife's paternal grandfather.  He was one of those 'fascinating people' types.  Oddly, my Wife's family was never as close to her as they were to her Mom's side.  Sometimes I think that has to do with the personalities involved.  But we made sure to visit them when we could.  They were in Indianapolis and we lived in Louisville and Southern Indiana.  He had done a little of everything in his life, though didn't dwell too much on the past.  He preferred talking about church and faith and current events.  He was the conversationalist that kept me busy whenever we visited.  As it was, his health was already failing even when I first met my wife.  Over the years it continued to decline until  a couple years ago he finally passed away.  It was one of those funerals where you know you should be sad, but you can't help but be glad for someone who contributed so much to so many.

My Dad - last but certainly not least, my Dad.  A veteran and a railroad engineer.  There's too much about my Dad to list here.  Suffice it to say, he was a great Dad.  Perhaps a better Dad than a father, as he was never overly concerned about teaching me what to do in life.  He mainly led by example, and told me what to avoid.  His basic lesson was never screw up your whole life for a moment, and always stand on your principles.  He also demonstrated a big heart and a willingness to do anything for the kids, and for anyone who needed help for that matter.  He didn't have to tell me to work hard, he showed me.  Obviously, he had a tough childhood.  Abject poverty and an alcoholic, abusive father.  Oddly, not one of the five brothers was ever abusive.  By all accounts, the four who had children were good Dads and husbands who never raised a hand to their families.  When I was about three, Dad bought an old, rundown home outside of a small farming town that would be my childhood haunt.  It was literally like the house from Green Acres.  He worked at a railroad switching yard almost an hour away.  He would go to work, work a twelve hour shift, come back, and work on the house by himself.  For almost a year he did that while we lived in a small set of rooms behind a coworker of his.  At least once my Mom walked with me the several miles down the old, gravel road to where Dad was working on the house.  Shortly after my sister started fifth grade, we moved in.  It still needed work, but Dad did everything himself - except the wiring.  That he left to a professional.  I always felt that was Dad's way to truly make a life for his family that he never had.  While it would be easy to focus on where Dad didn't do great - he had no patience for teaching me how to do everything he could do, and he had an almost addiction to moving from place to place, making it impossible to have long-term friendships - I always knew he meant the best and did things for the best of reasons.  His desire was to give us what he never had, and to be the type of Dad he never knew.  For that reason, as much as anything, he remains someone I still look to and try to emulate as a fabulous Dad. 

All of these, and perhaps others who didn't come to mind, are in my prayers and thoughts this day.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

A triumph in many ways

Despite overwhelming obstacles, we still managed to make it a fun Halloween/Spooky season for our youngest.  It isn't what it used to be, when his three older brothers were always around, taking him and doing things with him, often with me and/or their mom trotting behind.  Now it's mostly me and the mom doing things, with whatever brother(s) are available.  This month it's mostly been the three of us, sometimes with our eighteen year old who isn't going to school, and only now and again with the older two.  Their jobs and college keep them hopping, though they're both pulling A averages, so it's worth it.

Nonetheless, despite several unforeseen issues and the last week of ongoing, constant, relentless, never ending rain, we managed to pull together a fairly successful Halloween, with at least a little round about for the Fall season.  Pictures will be forthcoming.

Likewise, this last month was the busiest this blog has ever had.  Only one other time was it close to this busy here, and it even exceeded any of my months at Patheos.  In fact, only the first month after I came back from Patheos was this blog anywhere close.  I think several regulars from Patheos came over for the first month to see what this was about.  Most (not all, most) were just the old Patheos trolls it turns out.  Some trolls can be, for whatever else they are, brave souls, charging into places where they are the decided minorities.  Most of my trolls at Patheos were of the cowardly variety.  They preferred trolling in places where they knew they were the majority, and could count on others joining in and beating up on the rare non-conformer.  I guess fearful that they might be outnumbered here, they moved on, only visiting on rare occasion (per their own testimony on other sites).

So having beaten out the all time traffic record, and having passed anything I did at Patheos, that will also bring about some changes.  I'll get to those, too.  As of now, it's raining and raining and raining some more.  We're watching the basement like a hawk, as it was last November that, for the first time since we've lived here, the basement flooded.  The rains this time aren't as heavy as they were then, but it's been over a week of daily rain with only a couple days of breaks.  Once we're done with that vigil, I'll update the all important epicures, and explain where things are going to go in the future. 

Till then, TTFN and God bless.

In a single sentence Don Lemon demonstrates all of the idiocy, lies, racism and bigotry of modern America

Yep.  You read that right.  He actually said that.  In addition to the gross lack of self awareness, it demonstrates the new official bigotry of the United States.  The Left has turned white, Christian men into the Jews of 1930s Germany, or Blacks of the Jim Crow South.  And it does so as easily as those groups were demonized, because the ones in power believe it, just as they did back then.

When you see this, you realize that if Mr. Lemon was white and living in the 1800s in Alabama, he would likely have the same attitude about Blacks.  It's racism and bigotry and it's evil.  Sadly, like all ages, you will have plenty in power who will embrace it because, well, that's what all the cool people are doing. 

And, as always, you will have plenty of people ready to hang up their worship of Jim Crow for the next substitute for Jesus if it will ensure suffering for the Gospel on six figures a year.

Happy Halloween!

If possible.  Fish Eaters does its usual yeoman's work when it comes to unpacking the day from a Christian POV.  Here is an old reflection on the many faces of Halloween as it has developed over the years.  And in all fairness, remembering when there was actually quality contributions, Mark Shea did post a piece by an honest Atheist, ripping apart a loony anti-Christian meme.  A reminder of what he used to be capable of.

To set the mood, here is the inestimable Vince Guaraldi setting the mood for Charlie Brown and the gang.  There is no reason why this should sound like it works for Halloween, but it does:

The devil for a sideboard

Or should kiddies dress as little devils on Halloween night?  An interesting article musing on the annual controversy.

A tale of two fictional priests in time for Halloween

Before I begin, allow me to say something.  I hear many people state that the problems with the Christian Faith in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, are due to compromise with a modernist, secular world view.  They've gone liberal.  Hence the problems.

The retort is that the Church has always had problems.  It's had them for 2000 years.  Heck, the only reason we have a New Testament is because the Apostles were writing to address problems in the earliest Church.  That is true.

It's important to remember, however, that each era has had its particular problems, and when the Church has been at its worse, it's been because it zigged when it should have zagged, often in reference to the particular developments and problems of a given era.   So while the Church has always had problems, it's safe to say that each era has presented the Church with its own unique problems, and the legacy of that age is based upon how the Church reacted.

For the past several generations (centuries maybe?), the Christian Faith as a whole has been following the world and adapting accordingly.  Dare I say, there's little difference between the model of the universe as understood by atheists and secularists today, and a model of Christian Creation as understood by a majority of believers.

That observation isn't new, and each year I'm reminded of a couple authors who had already picked up on the growing secularization of the Christian Faith in general, and the Catholic Church in particular.  Stephen King in his novel Salem's Lot, and William Peter Blatty, in his novel The Exorcist.

In both cases, you have priests who are undergoing their own version of a crisis of faith.  And in both cases, it's largely the result of the Church having adopted a secularized, modernist - dare I say, atheistic - model of reality. 

Fr. Callahan, from Salem's Lot, bemoans the loss of the good old days; back when the  warriors of God did battle with heretics and infidels, fighting and believing in real devils and demons lurking in the shadows and the corners of civilization.  The Exorcist's Fr. Karras, on the other hand, has almost lost his faith.  When Chris MacNeil, the mother of possessed Reagan MacNeil, approaches Fr. Karras about an exorcist, he openly scoffs.  He suggests getting into a time machine and going back to the Middle Ages since nobody - but nobody - believes in that silly stuff anymore.

Of course we know that both of them are confronted with powerful challenges to their attitudes.  Fr. Callahan gets more than he bargained for when it comes to fighting those real life devils and monsters.   Fr. Karras, despite a heroic attempt at remaining skeptical in the face of the supernatural, eventually has to concede what is obvious to everyone else.

The point is, they both represent what these authors saw in the Church at that point in history - many generations ago.  Already the Church had sold out, had compromised, had gone secular.  Oh sure, in the Mass, you get your Jesus and Mary and angels and, perhaps on rare occasion, that rascally Devil.

But in the real world, the Church has been trying to make sure that whether in the university, or laboratory, or hospital, or psych ward, there simply is no difference between what an atheist would say and what the Church says. Let a priest sit next to an atheist scientist to discuss the history of the universe, and you can barely slide a sliver of paper between their views.  Listen to a Christian counselor and a secular psychologist, and there is scant difference.   Listen to all but the most conservative biblical scholars, and there is little to distinguish their appraisal of biblical history and that of an unbelieving anthropologist.  There just isn't much difference anymore.

The same, therefore, is likely true of a great many believers.  Oh, on Sunday and at divers times throughout the week, we'll speak of heaven here and a prayer there.  God always ranks high, since believing in God is so easy even demons do it, and shudder.  On Sundays, especially, you get angels and demons and God and Jesus and heaven and all that jazz.

But step out the door, and go back to work, and it's the world of atoms and molecules and DNA and evolution and psychoanalytical theory and computers and digital technology and brick and mortar and a vast universe with none but a pointless speck of dirt called Earth.  And that's increasingly the point of view of Christian leaders and thinkers.  It gets less spiritual with the actual worldly appraisal of things.

Modernity is the great heresy of Christian history; the greatest since Arianism.   Modernity has heard the Gospel, and denied it.  It has said that Jesus - if He existed at all - was no more than some obscure son of a first century floozy who got the business end of Roman justice for being some hippy appearing social revolutionary.  Virtually everything about God - if not God Himself - is rejected along with the biblical narrative.  The Christian model of Creation is all but rejected.  And every day it seems, Modernity emerges with new theories or revelations that challenge almost anything and everything that Christianity once proclaimed.

To merge these two views is like tossing a clean washcloth into a mud purple.  When it's over, you'll still have a mud puddle with a dirty washcloth.  The puddle itself will not get cleaner.  I say it's time for the Faithful to put on the brakes.  Realize that much of what has been peddled for centuries will, in a thousand years, have long been discarded as silliness.  Reclaim a God centered, Christ driven, Holy Spirit led Creation brought through Sacred Tradition and the pages of Holy Scripture.  Call out the world for its errors and the manifold holes in the billion theories it peddles on a daily basis.

My two cents.  Happy Halloween.

Words fail me

Vincent Price and Alice Cooper in Welcome To My Nightmare, 1975

Sometimes even Halloween can't justify the 70s. 

The Pipe Bomber and all those False Flag theories

My boy was right about the pipe bombs.  It was a person, per the NYT, with serious mental issues.  He was wrong in that a person with those mental issues could carry out such a wide range of threats.  But he was right that no serious person with a right mind would think that in doing so, this would help the GOP.  Anyone with more than two brains cells to rub together would know that the GOP, conservatives, Trump and all Trump supporters would immediately be blamed for such a thing.

That's what people like Erick Erikson and Russell Moore miss.

Those who rushed out with the 'False Flag' theories and conspiracies and speculation were basically thinking it through.  It made no sense.  Polls were going the GOP way, Trump was looking better than he has in recent months, the great Blue Wave had all but disintegrated - why would anyone rooting for Trump/the GOP do such a thing?  Any sane person in the world would know that the press/Left would immediately take any such attacks or threats as proof positive that it is Trump's Fault, indicative of American conservatism, and should, per George Stephanopoulos, impact how people vote in a couple weeks.

Therefore, the perpetrator had to be bat-nuts barking-mad stark-raving-insane, or a partisan operative working for the Left.  It turns out it was a man with a long history of mental illness, per the NYT.  Again, the mistake my son made was thinking a person who is that mentally unbalanced could not pull off a well coordinated action like that.  It seemed a stretch.  After all, he had to mail multiple packages all over America and have them arrive near the same time.  Try mailing one thing and hoping it gets to a certain spot at a certain time by normal mailing.  Much less mail a dozen things and have most of them arrive at the same basic time.

But madness does not always equate to incompetence or to lack of cleverness or resourcefulness. And that was the mistake.  Otherwise, it was entirely rational to ask just why a conservative operative would do such a thing when there was no sane reason in the world at that time to do such a thing.  And it turns out, those asking that question were correct.

When the press campaigns for the Democrats

So last night, around our makeshift dinners (owing to scheduling and multiple events), we listened to the local news.  It was Channel 10, sort of our goto station when available.  One of the stories was about the Trump 2020 campaign pouring millions of dollars of advertising into the upcoming midterm elections.  No problem.

During the story, it mentioned a one minute ad that was being played.  Apparently the ad talks about how voting Republican will keep the economic boon on the right track.  The ad, the story said, referenced the recent positives and compared them to the economic doldrums of 2010.  OK, fair enough.

Then, when the story was over, the anchor - Jerry Revish - interjected that it should be mentioned that in 2010, the economy was just recovering from a collapse that had occurred under the George Bush administration.

We all perked up.  What?  They didn't play the ad, so we don't know.  Perhaps the ad says in 2010 the economy collapsed because of Obama. If so, then perhaps it's fair to make the correction, though the ad wasn't played and we know nothing of how it frames the events. All we do know is that the ad says, per the newscast, that the economy is better now than in 2010.  That is a fact.

That the newscast felt the need to  add 'but Bush!' when, based on the story's presentation, there was no need to do so, speaks volumes. It's that sort of thing that the press does as an agency of the Democrats.  It's that sort of thing that makes people distrust the press and even go so far as to support Donald Trump. It was not needed based on the newscast's story, and it was clearly meant to put a positive spin on things for Obama when there was no reason to do so. 

Again, that's why the distrust.  And that's why it takes a mountain of credulity to believe the press is slighted toward one particular party.

Meanwhile the New York Times ratchets up the hateful rhetoric

In the face of the caravan of immigrants heading toward the United States.  Yes, it's hateful rhetoric.  When you define an opposing view as hatred, then unless you can prove it's because they truly hate, you are the one being hateful. 

The word 'hate' has become a smack down.  It's the post-modern equivalent of Archie Bunker's 'stifle yourself!'  It's meant to end debate and hand the trophy to the winner.  In this case, those who are advocating open borders and post-national globalization.  If you aren't with them, you're a liar, a hater, a bigot, a racist, a Nazi. 

And that, children, is hate.  Not opposing such positions as globalization or open borders (or, for that matter, supporting them).  But framing salvation and righteousness as only capable if one supports your own opinions.  If it isn't hate, it's the next best thing.

The Washington Post ramps up the hateful rhetoric

Here.  Yep.  The glaring blind spot to the press's moaning about rhetoric and its impact on violence is that it is as guilty as anyone.  It's like Hitler looking to Himmler and saying, "Boy you're mean."  Until the press stops this, the hate, rancor, vitriol and divisions will continue. 

Greater love hath no man than this

That a man lay down his life for his friends. 

There is no good story that can come out of such a tragedy, but there can be inspiring ones.  Such as this story of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz.  He heard the sound of gunfire at the Tree of Life synagogue and rushed to the sound of the carnage.  That is, he rushed toward danger for those he knew and loved.  Tragically, he lost his life. 

May God bless and embrace this man who was willing to risk and lose his own life for the benefit of others, one of the greatest proofs of the divine spark in the human existence.  May we all look at him and his example and not become part of the problem that underpins such human suffering. 

"I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the LORD"  Psalm 116:13

So criticizing George Soros makes you a Nazi

Apparently.  Not just the kindly and tolerant Sarah Silverman, who declares antisemitic a host of conservative viewpoints:

But a growing chorus of American leftists and sympathizers are declaring that since some who hate Soros might do so because he is Jewish, therefore all criticism of Soros is now Nazi.  This is similar, of course, to the tactic that labeled as racist any and all opposition and criticism of Barrack Obama.  It's a powerful, crushing tool for censorship and eliminating dissenting views.

Soros himself is a massive supporter for hard left wing causes, funneling millions into movements to advocate unbridled abortion rights, extreme feminism, LGBTQ agendas and even fostering the recent anti-police rhetoric that was no big thing while police were being murdered across America.  Because, remember, back then rhetoric didn't count and couldn't be blamed for things.

Now, in the latest incarnation of principles, rhetoric does matter, including any open criticisms of one of America's biggest supporters of radical leftist causes.  Again, this is a powerful weapon that is wielded by the Left, because it taps into the unforgivable sin of racism, which strips away the humanity of all perpetrators, and is used to burn America's heritage and history to ashes.  Anyone even slightly tinged with an accusation of racism can - and increasingly should - have their lives destroyed, their futures ruined, their reputations annihilated, no questions asked.

I have no doubt that there are those who hate Soros because he is Jewish. Most, however, hate what he does, how he does it, and why.  It is they that this tactic is primarily aimed at.  Think on it. Why make a fuss about it being antisemitic?  Would that matter for those who really are?   No.  It's a warning shot across the bow, that Soros is now invulnerable.  Any criticism of him will mark you as Nazi, racist, the irredeemable.  Wade into any criticism of him at your own risk.  And if people like Silverman have their way, any criticism of anything left of center will get you the same.

UPDATE:  Apparently it's not just Soros, but saying anything negative about Globalization is now a secret code for 'Praise Hitler!'  Abolishing national identities and establishing a singular world order is hardly a Jewish thing, though there are likely Jewish people to the Left of center who embrace it.  It is the ultimate goal of the Left.  A world with one class to rule them all.  It almost smacks a little of apocalyptic prophecy if you get down to it.  When old dispensationalists used to speak of that being the end goal of the Antichrist, we all chuckled.  But now, given what is behind this push for Globalization (not Jews, but the Left in general), it's not hard to use your imagination and make the connection. 

Prayers for the victims at the Tree of Life synagogue

We've all heard of the horrific shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.  At this point, eleven people have been murdered.  Several others are wounded.  The gunman is in custody.  The hatred and evil that he spewed is nauseating.  The results of his hatred remind us why Christ told us that not killing is one thing, but Raca and Fool are worthy of judgement and the fires of Hell.

Prayers for those who have perished, and may God give strength and peace to their loved ones in the coming days, weeks, months and years.  May the Lord use this to bring peace and love to this troubled land.  May it not be exploited, or worse, used to justify more hate and evil.  The antisemitism that has plagued the Christian world for far too many centuries must end.  May God, through His grace, help us overcome this blight upon the witness of the Church, and the heart and soul of our modern world.

Update: So pipe bomber suspect has been identified

So far, the only person found in connection to the spate of pipe bombs shipped exclusively to Democrats and liberal activists has been one Ceasr Sayoc.  According to early reports, he's a registered Republican who has been known to make threats before.

That would confirm two things: one, that the notion of a vast conpriacy of many people was wrong.  Two, that the individual is some sane person who is part of a major movement.  One does not make ongoing threats if one is sane.  Which would explain why, if he is a die hard Republican, he would think this might help the GOP - or perhaps not care one way or another.

If this is true, however, it won't bode well for the GOP, as any sane person could tell.  Before we knew anything, Trump, Trump's Rhetoric, and the political Right were already being blamed.  A far cry from a year ago, when the attempted assassination of multiple Republicans by a proud Democratic operative was declared off limits to blame or political association.  Now the link is clear, obvious, and all to the Right now bear the blame.

If, of course, this turns out to stand.

UPDATE: Stories are now coming out that the suspect is Native American.  Right now it's probably best to hold off.  By tomorrow the suspect could end up being Romulan with ties to the Galactic Empire as an agent of Mordor.   Whatever it is, failure for it to be a bona fide Democrat or Antifa operative will result in all blame placed on Trump, the GOP, and white men.  Even if he turns out to be Native American (just ask George Zimmerman). 

UPDATE II:  It looks like more and more evidence is pointing to Mr. Savoc, who is declared guilty along with Trump, Trump supporters and all to the Right of center.  This will, of course, to thinking people stand in stark contrast to the Congressional baseball practice shooting of a mere year ago, when we were told emphatically that an evil act can be blamed on nobody but the criminal in question.  Not the Left, the Democrats, Bernie Sanders or anyone - it is only the shooter who alone is to blame (with a possible discussion about Gun Control).  Now, of course, it's nothing but Trump, the GOP, Conservative Media, and all Trump Supporters.  They are to blame.

This, by the way, is interesting timing as it is at this very point that the remains of Matthew Shepard have been interred in the National Cathedral as a Smithsonian exhibit honoring him is being developed.  What is the connection?  Because for decades we were told that the entire popular culture, aiming like a laser at our youth, pushing drugs, debauchery, sex, and sometimes suicide, can never, ever be blamed for what the youth actually do; no STDs, no AIDS, no drug pandemics, no suicide can ever be blamed on popular culture output.  And yet, when Mr. Shepard was brutally murdered, it became the fault of anyone who ever spoke out against homosexuality.  Christianity in particular was singled out, and preachers preaching against homosexuality were named specifically as a cause behind Matthew Shepard's death.  Almost overnight, any public opposition to homosexuality was declared the same as having contributed to his death, and the assaults or harm done to any homosexuals anywhere at any time.  Though at the same time we are still told that music and movies and other pop culture output can't be blamed on any messages they send.

This was the first real 'X is True/False because Convenient!' example that was picked up by the modern Left via the news media and popular culture and our education institutions.  At least on any national, coordinated level.  Since then it's become more common to see this done, and now we are seeing yet another example of 'Left as the Only Way, Truth and Life' propaganda.  For it will now be milked for everything it is worth and used to stem the trends that were beginning to work against the Democrats.  Now we will know that anything and everything ever done is 100% the fault of anyone not liberal.  And  a growing number of Americans, Leftists - and even Christians - will lap it up to the last drop.

Megyn Kelly walks to the guillotine

Yep.  Why?  Because she asked about why someone going in blackface for Halloween is automatically this evil thing.  Of course racism is, like any sexual crime in the 21st century, an unforgivable sin.  No rehab or reconciliation or forgiveness there.  The slightest sliver of thinking deemed racist makes you entirely racist, entirely unforgivable, defined not as a human but as a racist forever.

What Ms. Kelly may have thought was that she is a liberal woman, in the #MeToo era, who isn't wearing blackface or saying it's good to wear blackface.  She's merely asking a question.  What she forgot is that we are on the borders of the American Soviet, which is already making puritanical witch hunts look like Mary Poppins tea parties by comparisons.  Yes, we can't burn people at the stake yet.  But we can destroy their ability to function in society and forever label them as unclean outcasts.

Her fatal error was forgetting that her white skin trumps her genitals.  And since she was already a vocal critic of her own network's handling of the #MeToo accusations, playing her race over her gender became an easy way to send her to the proverbial guillotine.  Post-modern America in action.

This is the America the Left is promising, the media is endorsing, and Americans increasingly appear to want.  So there you go.  Our sincerest apologies to those puritans who used to be used as a case study for what liberalism was promising to deliver us from.

UPDATE:  In which the hyenas pile on the carcass.  WaPo muses on why this once queen hero of the anti-Trump movement, and beloved trasher of her former conservative colleagues, had no business getting the money she had for her show. 

Whether her firing was to get rid of a pesky woman whose #MeToo ideals were hitting too close to home, or merely indicative of the witch hunt society the Left is trying desperately to erect, is beyond my knowledge.  What can't be denied is that it's likely either one or the other of those two things, or a combination thereof. 

Where is the pipe bomb news?

Just asking.  I don't have access to Cable News, so perhaps it's being covered there.  But last I saw on a CNN streaming clip, they were talking about something else.  Though that was a while ago.

Print media will have to wait, naturally.  But where is the constant updating?  Where is the round the clock coverage?   I mean, we had serious death threats made against our news media, and against national political figures including former Presidents of the United States!   Shouldn't that be at the top of every search?  Shouldn't there be special 24/7 links keeping constant updates?  Shouldn't every search list the latest stories about this attack on our very existence as a free people? 

Look below.  That's what I get with a News search of the latest updated news.  There is one about the packages sent to Biden and De Niro.  Mostly those are just recapping what we already knew, with some detail about who was there and who found what.

But that's it.  Sex abuse of a female rugby ref and Fox News streaming are suddenly worth focusing on more than this?  Shouldn't we have leads?  Shouldn't we have suspects? Shouldn't some camera somewhere have seen something by this point? 

Nate Winchester pointed out the somewhat eerie similarities to this and the Las Vegas shooting, at least in how wacky it all seemed.  To this day, we know virtually nothing about the biggest mass shooting in modern American history.  And in over a day since the first bomb threats (more if you count the one against Soros), we have - nothing.  We know no more than we knew yesterday when the first bombs were detected.  Why?  Not just that we don't know anything more, but the press doesn't seem to be focused on it the way you'd think. 

Nothing really here, just an observation about one more screwy thing about this whole news story that doesn't quite mix.

In which we learn just how crooked and corrupt is our election system

Courtesy of Vox (Yeah, I know).

So now that the fabled Blue Wave might be dissipating, we're hearing more and more stories about - wait for it! - corruption at the polling booth! 

So, to recap, in 2000 and 2004 we learned just how corrupt, dishonest, and crooked was America's entire election process. 

Then in 2008 everything got fixed and was awesomely swell. 

Then in 2016, when almost every human being on the planet (including yours truly) assumed Clinton would continue the Left wing swing, Trump said the election system was rigged.  How dare he!  How dare he say this, the greatest of all elections systems in history, is anything but pure and wonderful.  He was universally castigated for saying such a horrible thing.

Then, of course, Trump won and we learned that the entire 2016 election was a fraud with stolen votes, voter intimidation and a vast Commie Pinko conspiracy to help Trump steal the election.

While stories have continued to circulate about the attempt to protect us from outside interference, there has been little in the news about actual voter fraud or corrupt election processes expected for the Midterms.  Until the last few weeks when, for some strange reason, I've started hearing more and more about voter fraud, corruption and the polls and of course that ever corrupt and wicked electoral process that is America's democracy.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with the sudden ebbing of the Democrat's blue wave and the growing realization that the Democrats may only win the House - if that.

Nah, it couldn't be that.  I'm sure there's something else out there that accounts for the above tendencies and story-lines.

The sane and Christian and American response to the bomb threats

Is to pray that nobody is hurt, that the perpetrators are brought to justice, and that we turn around before our country plunges over a point of no return.

That would be the sane response.  I still don't see a logical reason for this to be done by any sane conservative operative.  And yet, it doesn't take away from the fact that it was done.  Republicans and conservative outlets have been right to condemn the actions outright.  President Trump was right to do the same thing.  Any outlets who have carried  the story and not laid blame or used it to attack are right in how they acted.

Anyone who has already condemned without evidence, and worse, moved to call upon voters to defeat Republicans, are the reason why our country teeters on the brink of collapse and violence. Those who sent the bombs, and those who would exploit the bombs with no knowledge in order to score against their political opponents, are one and the same.

Sane Christians and Americans who value our freedom and peaceful transfer of political station would do well to condemn both.  Christians who would either support such terror tactics or exploit such terror tactics bring shame to the Gospel and harm to our nation.

Pope Francis don't know much about history

Really.  To blame the onset of World War I on populism is about as wrong as wrong can be.  I'm sometimes stunned at just how ill-educated and ignorant of basic knowledge Pope Francis actually is. I don't think everyone - including a pope - must be some Ivy League erudite.  But he should realize he isn't one, and act accordingly. 

Pope Francis often wades into issues as if there is only his own perspective or Hitler!  Even if his perspective, as in this case, is demonstrably wrong.  Add to that his tendency to always insist that the trues powers of Hell and Hitler are always those Catholics and Christians over there, and you have a pope who might be good for the modern populism of the Left, but not a good one for the shepherding of the Faithful.