Safe Haven

 It’s probably insane to mark the time when I was about 20 as “the good ol’ days,” but if you think about it, unless you’re sick, being 20 is generally awesome. I didn’t fornicate with any women, so I can’t talk about that. I’m a massive nerd, who was the type to learn whilst entertaining himself. I never belly-laughed at Dennis Miller, but I appreciate him. The forerunner of every rightist trying to be funny. A conservative Republican at his/her best knows something you don’t. He’s not depressed; he leaves that for you, liberal. I will say Gutfield is trying too hard; when The Five was first on, it was hilarious. Conservatives aren’t funny when they’re aggrieved; they’re funny when you’re aggrieved. I don’t have anything to say really about the Pope and Vice President Vance. It wasn’t a smooth move for a general election, when the Catholic vote—both observant and otherwise—will be crucial. You can totally see Marco Rubio getting photographed at Mass, hugging his Bishop, and carryi...

 I always fear that my friend Tom Darrow, lately of Denver, Colorado and now presumably Iowa, cannot follow my chaotic digressions. But he seems to hold up well enough. [You probably shouldn’t give him your private message novellas late at night; he has a family, you scumbag.—ed.] Well, I used to rely on the forced generosity of the Mountain time zone; now, I am legitimately just trash. Anyway, I had a point, other than shouting out Tom. Being on the Right like 25 years ago at the dawn of the internet age was wild. Instapundit was the blogger version of the New York Times. And from there, you could go to Blackfive and Ace of Spades for military blog posts, James Lileks for culture and humor, some chick named Virginia who was in tech or something who was attractive and interesting, and on and on. Kausfiles was linked, and I am sure liberals thought and think he’s a betrayer, but those were the days that Democrats could outright win national elections. No, seriously. It used to be a ...

 Barry Manilow is a great songwriter, producer, and performer. His most famous songs are ones he didn’t write. “Mandy” and hilariously, “I Write The Songs” are the obvious examples. But he did write “Looks Like Me Made It.” Now, I love that bloody song; the lyrics and chorus just ring somehow. Yet I got to thinking. That’s the exact song that made me realize Manilow is gay. If he’s got actual sexual experience with women back there somewhere, I stand corrected. But no healthy heterosexual man—if you will forgive the term—would openly say anything like this, and especially not when he’s supposed to marry someone else. Maybe most people are recklessly…active, and I’m naive. But most of his records are kinda heteronormative in a way that isn’t convincing. With all due respect. Granted, pop singers aren’t known for continence and fidelity. But if say, Lionel Richie had been closeted gay for 40-odd years, I’d be stunned.

 I said that the Left had a presentation problem, and that is not quite right. First, a couple anecdotes: 1. I read once that 86 percent of babies aborted in New York City are Black; 2. Gov. JB Pritzker, someone with presidential aspirations, and whose state contains one of the largest cities in America, signed a bill authorizing euthanasia in Illinois. (Pope Leo XIV is a Chicago native.) Two literal examples of genocide, if not in intent, in result. Even the people who caved and used IVF or condoms one time know that we’re in a spot. Even if you can be funny on Colbert, you’re not “just one of the folks” if you support a genocide. Before you support single-payer healthcare (all the government), what are you going to say when that euthanasia becomes involuntary? Meanwhile, some Christians make a big fuss about various “visibility days” related to LGBTIA issues. Before I go on, let me say this as carefully as I can: I can show respect and even sympathy for people who are struggling—...

 Trump is Trump, and “appalling” and “blasphemous” are probably apt descriptions. But someone I know started a statement like the title of this post. I reject it as Marxist ideology, as if a person with a certain skin tone must think a certain way, and must be in eternal conflict with white people. It’s everywhere; it’s almost embedded in “mainstream” liberalism. Personally, I have opposed Trump at every turn. I’m not going to accept him as the logical outcome of a “white” view of the world, as if that also exists. A certain type of evangelical just falls into this ideological capture, because they are apocalyptic about everything, including politics. No “we lost today, but we’ll get them the next time.” No cooperation for the good of the city. Good guys and bad guys. The right-wingers do the same thing in reverse.

What if most of this phrase is political and cultural bullshit?  There is probably a theobro somewhere who agrees with me. I’m not one of them; I think women should vote, and have driver’s licenses and credit cards and whatever. I think “bodily autonomy” is a trash euphemism that means, “I think it’s perfectly acceptable to murder the results of my sexual promiscuity, because sexism, or whatever.” Something very close to 99 percent of all intentional pregnancy terminations are elective. Those three words before “are elective” are precisely chosen, so I don’t get into a pointless equivocation with the latte-drinking girly-boy husband of an exvangelical, because they like to conflate medical terms with common usage ones to sound smart. I don’t know “Allison,” maybe traditional Christianity seems “hurtful” because you slept with your boyfriend in college, and every time you open a Bible, you feel guilty. Except when Pastor Ben displays that verse about immigrants from the Old Testamen...

 Someone had the audacity to “gently” suggest that I had a “seething rage” as I wandered into—let’s call it a “progressive circle of self-congratulation.” Too bloody right, I was angry. First of all, every voter in America deserves at least the presumption of rationality. Every single one. I can remember thinking that John Kerry was the most timid follower, a guy more worried about seeming normal than speaking plainly, even to us conservatives at the time. News stories about him calling that paragon of virtue and the life of the common citizen, Bill Clinton, to talk to people. And with a haughty arrogance I was pretty sure that I would never see again. What a profoundly entitled idiot, in the classical sense. Even so, if you didn’t like the Bush administration, what are you going to do? They don’t have to invite him over for dinner or drinks; he was almost the president. I absolutely cannot think that I would dislike every Kerry voter in the same way. I would have personally been p...

 Well, I guess at least Minneapolis can say ICE stopped killing people long enough for their politicians to return to being utterly frivolous. A Councilman Chavez—fine, I think his name was Jason, leave me alone—wants us to apologize for our “bigoted” past in shutting down bathhouses in the early years of the AIDS crisis. OK, Camera 3. Pick 1: Either Reagan was insensitive for ignoring a disease that especially ravaged the homosexual community; or 2. We naively pretend that the whole disease and countless others—I’m sorry, “infection”—hit all of us equally. A digression, before I continue: I’m actually glad we were at least a little naive and sentimental about it, because it did kill a lot of people who were conventional but “sexually prolific.” Anyway, public health can’t afford to be politically correct, man. A doctor should be able to say, “I am not the Inquisition or the police, but this is risky behavior, and if you want to live longer, think about not doing it.” And listen, I...

 I’m still piqued; prepare yourself. I don’t go soft on Catholic and Christian teachings for pastoral or outreach reasons. I’m not qualified probably to “rank” the sexual sins for you, but with apologies to Mark Shea, whole buckets of Trump tweets (or whatever we’re gonna call them) don’t change our sexual ethics. And at the risk of being extremely piquant, you can’t pay me to use that patronizing phrase, “gay people.” I haven’t met anyone who said it routinely who wasn’t fully ready to sell Church teaching down the river. Either because they don’t see the intentional conflation of person and action, or, sadly, they are chasing influence as a “nice Christian” who wouldn’t risk offending the “marginalized” at any time. On the other hand, I can’t and don’t watch EWTN anymore; I am somewhat humorously afraid Raymond Arroyo will jump out and force me into the GOP again. And let’s cut the crap; beyond health care and food stamps, if America’s left-center party doesn’t scare you, you’re ...

 Let me stop you right there, friend. I don’t “identify as” Christian; I am one. Baptized in the Triune Name nearly 25 years ago. I choose not to deal with other foolishness related to the language of “identify as” at this time.  More to the point, I will not apologize for Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Paula White, or anyone else in the administration. You know why? I’m not them. Every human being baptized as a Christian is potentially an embarrassment to everyone else in the Body of Christ on the regular. The sheer arrogance of assuming that you should do this, because someone 1. Does something bad or that you disagree with; and 2. is holding political power, is truly breathtaking. I just need John Pavlovitz, Ben Cremer, and Joash Thomas, (and other notable people of the Christian Left) and acquaintances Rebecca Miller and Lindsay Wilkins, to understand that—even if I had voted for President Trump—I speak for myself, and only myself.  I have NEVER accosted an Obama voter, ...

 Jesus says some amazing stuff. Jesus says some stuff that you're like, "I don't know about that one, Jesus" at first. And then he says weird God-man stuff that we can easily miss, that if you had the job to think about it, you'd just have your mind blown over and over. Jesus just says this, and leaves us to pick up the pieces. "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." It's totally fine to say it in this instance: "O my God!" This is why the Eucharistic Sacrifice isn't a new one; this is why all those verbs at the tail end of St. Paul's teaching on the Supper (1 Cor. 11:23-30) are present tense. It's why the Passover rites even today are present tense. Because the Cross is now. Then, but now. No wonder they dared to call it a "propitiatory sacrifice" at Trent. No Christian believes Jesus' atoning work is just a memory. You'd better not! And let me ask you: are you simply remember...