Safe Haven

Ahem .

Election Update: I was slightly concerned about my prediction when I woke up this morning to see that the Real Clear Politics polling average had shifted nationally to a lead of .7% for President Obama. I looked a little closer, and it doesn't pass the sniff test. It's being skewed by a Gallup poll of all adults, showing an absurd lead of +10 for Obama. First off, NEVER POLL ALL ADULTS. If they don't bother to register, no one of consequence cares what they think. Secondly, most other surveys show a range between +2 and -5. Most firms are over-sampling self-identified Democrats. Frankly, they always do this. People point it out (especially since Republicans win most presidential elections) and they keep doing it. Eight years ago today, President Bush had a polling average lead of +6.5. It narrowed by election day, but he won by about 2 percentage points. This is what sitting presidents do. If they are in a strong position, this is evident pretty far out. There aren't ...

I went to Adoration last night. It is one of those weird Catholic things. I had to unburden myself. Sadness and sighing. Sometimes, He makes me laugh. There were no laughs today. But the Monsignor told us that a boatload of young people are in the RCIA. He said that 11 of the 16 people he met with decided to look into the Church because of the witness of their friends. So that was inspiring. You know, I went to this Eucharistic Adoration a lot in the months before I pulled the trigger. I wasn't sure what I believed about this Real Presence as they taught it. But it didn't matter. Jesus is Jesus. This is why I said, "Where Christ is, falsehood cannot be." I experienced what he meant when he said, "And surely I will be with you, even to the end of the age." Because we know he is sitting at the right hand of the Father. When He comes again, it will be glorious and terrible. But in this mode, He is not Judge. He's the one who said, "Let the little chi...

There are a few of you who are open to learning more about the Catholic Church and its claim to be the Church Christ founded. I want you to know exactly what I myself read in coming to that conclusion. 1. Upon This Rock, Steve Ray. 2. The Lamb's Supper, Scott Hahn 3. A Father Who Keeps His Promises, Scott Hahn 4. The Russian Church and the Papacy, Vladimir Soloviev. 5. The Early Papacy, Adrian Fortescue. 6. The Faith of the Early Fathers, William Jurgens. (vol. 1) If you read these 6 books, you will have a good chance to understand the claim being made, and you will see the evidence upon which that claim is based. It is very true that a group claiming to be the One True Church without any evidence would be a band of schismatics, trying to charm people with whatever allure existed in the way they did things. But that isn't what's happening here. In fact, I should say that you won't take any other rival claimants very seriously at all, once you understand the cha...

Last October, in what turned out to be the prelude to a time of great darkness and pain, I went to see Stanley Hauerwas, one of America's premier Protestant theologians. He was giving a talk in my area about the gospel and people with disabilities. I had to go. Mr. Cross invited me, and Tim, you were there, of course. Mr. Durrwachter was in attendance, as well. It was a big deal; a huge ecumenical gathering of theologians and seminarians from across many traditions of Christianity had formed. I think we were all knavishly expecting that the good doctor would swear a lot (he does that) but he didn't. When he began, his thoughts were a bit scattered; he is up in age, I thought, it's bound to happen. But he hit a stride, and he hit my soul. In truth, I have not recovered since. And I'm only now able to begin applying the lessons I learned about myself, and my place in this world. ["Lookin' for a reason/Roamin' through the night to find/My place in this world...

Election Update: I broke down and watched the RNC on its final night, and had watched the previous night, truth be told. I won't comment but to say that this is not a bounce. The polls have shown a discernable shift toward Mr. Romney for weeks now, as he consolidates GOP support. He has the unflagging support of 90 percent of self-indentified Republicans. The media is playing up the remaining swing voters. 'Tis true, if they broke in large quantities (like 2/3 or 4/5) for the president, then he would win. But it's not happening. The electoral votes show the same thing; those states called toss-ups will have to all break for Obama. The opposite is occurring. We are looking at a trouncing in favor of the challenger. It's waiting to happen. The media, who are out of a job and out of a candidate by stating the obvious, will hide this. I'll write this here, because I'm bad luck on OFB, but this is 1980. Obama is Carter in more ways than one! What you're going t...