Safe Haven

Here's a "gay" blog you can read until Jesus comes back. No, seriously. My friend from college, Stevi Ferguson, posted it. Stevi continues her incredible run of posting amazing, thoughtful things on Facebook from around the Christian blogosphere for us to read. I've said this to her many times. I digress. OK, odds are pretty good that the author, Julie Rodgers, is a Protestant. Try not to die, gentle readers. Anyway, we should be able as Catholics to separate orientation from behavior, as our Catechism does, in paragraphs 2358-2359. And maybe we can help our evangelical brethren to engage this issue more fruitfully. I read a couple more posts from Julie, and I really liked them. She tells us that she's committed to following Christ, in spite of the challenges and struggles, and I can get behind that, enthusiastically.

5. If you don't index anti-poverty/assistance programs to inflation, you are actually creating that "culture of dependency" you're always going on about. 4. Not even one person can live on $7.50/hr or whatever it is. I'm not saying raise it, but at least say it. When a liberal says it, and that he's concerned about it, it's an automatic 5 votes. Just sayin.' 3. Maybe we should give peace a chance. Just once. 2. I don't think sports teams should receive public funds. It's just not that important, really. And I love sports. 1. I'm still against the death penalty.

5. I admire the GOP for having spines, for once. It's a fake shutdown, but it may lead to better policy. 4. They aren't doing anything illegal. All the hand-wringing is about collective action. But the incentives are not collective for Congress; they are individual. Democrats do not understand (or choose not to understand) that a GOP legislator will face loads more wrath from within his party for folding to Dems than any noise the Dems or media could generate, and they have more to lose long-term than you hope to gain from the "bad optics." 3. Boehner is going to eat Obama for lunch, eventually. They'll do a deal, Obama will look good short-term, and then actual policy will reflect Republican priorities. 2. Obama is a unique and very powerful symbol, but he's a second-rate tactician and legislator. They have finally figured this out. 1. I love America, and our politics. I really do. Acrimony is bad; gridlock, however, is not. Our system was designed th...

Loss Cry now, though Joy hides like she will never come back. Jesus cries with us.

We have to talk about it. I'm sure you know, this is a progressive slogan, a throw-away line. This is the moral trump-card, the "End of discussion, I'm better than you, because I CARE" card played against every conservative since at least 1492. I'm taking this card away today. We're talking about it, because it's important. The gap between the rich and poor in the US is ridiculous. Completely. It's really a scandal. And the reason it's only gotten worse is because we have lost the concept of true meritocracy. So-called liberals run around creating who knows what trying to address it, our government grows, poverty persists, and someone else gets blamed. Republicans either like the wildly unjust system the way it is, or pretend it's not real, thereby losing the people who still have souls to speak of, and at least half the people with brains. But our political class wants you to believe that poor people are some weird species of leper. Both hal...

It's a must-win. Upstart Pirates are up 2-1. Matheny chose Wacha over Shelby the Kid. They're both kids, actually. We're confident. The boys have good hitting numbers against Charlie Morton. I want to win real bad, because I know that Waino will shut the door in the deciding fifth game. The truth of it is, though, it doesn't matter. We win either way. That's how we do baseball in St. Louis, and I doubt you'd understand. Each and every season is a love story between the team and its fans. We love them, and they love us. Win or lose. Fair enough, we win a lot. But a city that loves the game so deeply should win. How many times have aging veterans had surprising returns to form? How many rookies have played like All-Stars? Not just this year. Every year. Mark it down: This is the Cardinals' 10th postseason appearance in 14 years. A few years is a window; a decade and a half is a method. A Way. The Cardinal Way. We're the Yankees for a third of the price...

Bingo . And Francis was his name-O. [You just can't help yourself, can you?--ed.]

Yes, that . 1000 times, that.

We can really make a mess of things, can't we? We don't only need forgiveness; we also need mercy for our wounds, and the wounds of others. I was carrying a pain like this around today, and I couldn't shake it. I'm glad no one asked me if I was OK. I can't guarantee that it would not have been a scene. Just sayin.' I'm just one of those people for whom "holding it together" only applies to sandwiches. I'm not kidding. I cried watching Baywatch one time. Settle down. I was young enough that women in swimsuits was just women in swimsuits. Anyway, you probably have seen the one where Hobey (The Hoff's son on the show) befriends the lonely giant who was mistreated? Sheesh. Please don't make me watch that, ever again. Too much. So, pray for someone hurting today. The sins by them or against them may be long past, but the damage lingers.