Imagine… Communism (John Lennon Parody)

Biden, Did You Know? (Song Parody)

Plague Journal by Michael D. O’Brien

I just read another one of Michael O'Brien's book: Plague Journal.

The book is the middle book of a trilogy, the first one being Strangers and Sojourners, and the last of them being Eclipse of the Sun.

I cheated and did not read Strangers and Sojourners before reading Plague Journal. I will do so later, I'm about to start Eclipse of the Sun because I really liked Plague Journal and want to find out what happened to the surviving characters.

Plague Journal is dystopian novel of the kind really popular among conservative Catholic writers back in the the late 1990's and early 2000's. People were convinced that Catholics and people of faith will be persecuted, the government will become tyrannical, and that all sorts of evils will take control of society. 

In this book, a newspaper editor speaks out against government control, schools usurping parental authority, abortion, anti-morality sex education, and more. Even though he wrote 20 something years ago he's really describing today when the government spies on conservative Catholics, arrests pro-lifers, attacks parents speaking out about what their children are being taught, and more. 

Although his vision is darker than the reality, it still hits too close to home. Given my pro-life activities, my speaking out against the moral decay in our culture and society, and my resistance to government control, I wouldn't be surprised if some day I face some legal issues or social retaliation.  

But beyond the ideas it contains, the book is well-written. The characters are interesting - hence inspiring me to get out the third book in the series.

Pax et bonum

My Poem in the HSA Anthology

hail storm
waiting for what
she has to say next

- Fractured by Cattails (Haiku Society of America 2023 Members' Anthology)

Pax et bonum

Alice's Restaurant 1969

The Catholic Origins of Thanksgiving | The Catholic Talk Show

Podcast?

I've been working on Santa's Diary.

Meanwhile, the idea of having a podcast has been suggested to me. 

My interests are too eclectic to have a focus for a general prodcast. But what about one focusing on either Santa or on storytelling. I used to tell stories under the name "Tunes 'n Tales." There's a stortwller up in New England who uses that title, but she has only posted a few videos on YouTube. As far as I can tall, she does not have a podcast.

I thought of doing something Santa - Santa's Diary? - as a podcast, maybe with him telling stories, but that might be limiting.

I like the Tunes 'n Tales idea. I certainly have a number of stories I used to tell, songs I used to sing, and several story/songs like Great Big Monster Under My Bed. I even have a theme song I used to use!

Hmmm. Just need to get those teeth fixed!

Of course, this all could be just another one of my whims.

Pax et bonum

Not en-Raptured

David Jeremiah
eschews the prosperity path in preaching about the Messiah.
Yet part of his path is seeing how much money he can capture
by marketing the myth of the rapture.

Pax et bonum

Letitia's Smirk

Attorney General Letitia James
is fond of playing games.
Her latest was attending a trial and practicing her smirk
instead of showing up at the office to work.

Pax et bonum

Santa's Diary

I earlier noted that since I didn't have an idea for a Christmas poem or story this year I'd use one of my stories from Santa's Diary.

Santa's Diary was blog I started in July of 2005. I wrote a number of entries in 2005 and 2006, then wrote a few more intermittently after that. There are some 200 entries, though some are repetitive, such as the ones for Christmas Day, or ones where I note I haven't been good about posting.

Still, there are some interesting stories - such as the one I intend to use for Christmas this year about a mishap with a young young reindeer. I tell about lives with the elves, how I met Mrs. Claus, encounters with mythical creatures like trolls and giants and goblins, and so on.

I figure there's about 180 or so usable entries.

Then it hit me that I really should organize and develop them, and add some new ones. Next year is a leap year - 366 days. So 366 entries? 

Worth considering. 

Certainly a better use of my computer time than arguing on social media or playing online games.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Pax et bonum

The King of Elfland's Daughter (Dunsany)

Some friends who are fantasy fans touted The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany as a book I should read.

I took their advice.

There are some interesting elements to the book. I thought the treatment of the trolls was amusing and different than what I've seen elsewhere. I liked the idea of there being a crossable boundary between the world we know and Elfland. The romance between the Elf Princess and the human Prince had me wondering if Tolkien had read this book and was unconsciously inspired to create his romance between Arwen and Aragorn.

I can see why my fantasy-fan friends like the book, and why it's considered a significant fantasy work by critics and fantasy writers.

But in the end I did not like the book. I wanted to see more of Elfland. The brutal killing of a unicorn, and the hunting of others, turned me off. I didn't find the characters particulalry appealing - except, maybe, the trolls! I didn't find the ending satisfying.

I like some fantasy works, but this novel didn't make it for me.

Pax et bonum

The so-called Equal Rights Amendment is an Abortion Trojan Horse

In 2024, New York voters will have a chance to change the State Constitution.

The Equal Rights Amendment bill is deceptively called the New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment. But rather than just being a bill to promote rights and equality between the sexes, it is really a means to codify abortion and to undermine parental authority.

As The 19th News(letter) notes, "Democrats and abortion rights advocates in New York are pushing for a novel equal rights amendment they hope will establish the state as a haven for abortion access, boost Democratic enthusiasm in 2024 and set a roadmap for other states."

The article goes on to report, "Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, a national advocacy group, described the amendment as 'exciting' and a 'first of its kind' in how it expressly links sex discrimination and reproductive rights to LGBTQ+ rights and others.

'This would be the first time that a state constitution would explicitly name all of those as being encompassed by sex discrimination and within the context of sex discrimination,' she said."

... and ...

"New York Democratic leaders, like Hochul, also said they hope the measure will drive voter enthusiasm and turnout that will benefit Democratic candidates. In some ways they see the amendment as testing the mobilizing power of abortion rights.

'The ERA isn’t just about a single issue,' said Emma Corbett, state director of communications for Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts. 'Fewer and fewer voters are single-issue voters these days. There’s this real opportunity to codify those freedoms for New York, and I think voters are gonna respond positively to that.'”

It's not just about abortion.

"The amendment’s inclusion of civil rights and anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers also reflects a rising recognition of the interconnectedness of the attacks on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights unfolding across the country. In 2023 legislative sessions, many Republican-controlled states have sought to restrict abortion and gender-affirming care for transgender youth."

Although supposedly aimed at government actions, critics contend the amendment would effectively deny parental rights when it comes to abortion or to sex transitions by their children. Indeed, if they try to interfere they could potentially be charged.

Planned Parenthood points out the New York ERA would "protect against any government actions that would curtail a person’s reproductive autonomy or their access to reproductive health care. For example, the ERA would prevent the State from:

implementing a state abortion ban
stopping state funding for abortion via Medicaid
banning private insurance coverage of abortion
prosecuting or criminalizing miscarriage
adding medically unnecessary burdens on patients or facilities"

The statement about "criminalizing miscarriage" is part of the deception and fear-mongering engaged in by the pro-aborts. Miscarriages are not the same as abortions, and no pro-lifer is calling for this.

Kristen Curran, the New York State Catholic Conference's director of government relations, decried the Equal Rights Amendment as a continuation of false and misleading narratives by state lawmakers regarding abortion.

“Unfortunately, this bill solidifies the message that New York has been sending women for some time now: Abortion is positive, empowering, and the key to success. This couldn’t be further from the truth,” Curran said in a statement July 1, the same day the Equal Rights Amendment was passed. “Women, children, and their families deserve support and compassion. Baby formula is scarce, raising a family is unaffordable, and the fallout from the pandemic continues to take its toll. New York State should be pouring resources into helping women and families, not promoting abortion through limitless funding, advertisements, and splashy legislation.”

“Our elected officials should stop promoting abortion as a woman’s best and only choice,” Curran added, “and focus instead on true support for women, children, and families.”

Pax et bonum

Death vs Betrayal vs Catholic Social Teachings

It's the American Solidarity Party for me!

Pax et bonum

Satan Applauds Democrats' Tactic

Pax et bonum

Election Over

My opponents for Gates Town Board have been declared the winners. No surprise there - I did not expect to win.

The unofficial write-in totals at this point is 1.08% of the vote. I apparently got 86 votes - and I had said I would be happy with 25! I Not bad for a last-minute, six-week, no-budget, write-in campaign. 

My brief foray into politics, and the pro-abortion results in many places, just show that too many people have chosen to render unto Caesar. Many Republicans, for example, are talking about abandoning their "pro-life" positions for the sake of winning. Certainly they are backing away from even talking about the issue.

And the fact that the voters voted as they did tells me Satan's control of the media and public education has worked. 

I feel as if I'm living in the days before the French Revolution!

Pax et bonum

Oh Happy Day!

Pax et bonum

The campaign comes to an end

My six-week write-in campaign for Gates Town Board is nearly over; the polls close in three hours.

I raised some pro-life and environmental issues. I got to meet some interesting people and to learn more about things going on in my town. 

When I started, I thought I'd be happy if I got 10 votes. Thanks to meeting some new people and an environmental issue/group, it might even be possible to get 20 vote, and I'd be really pleased if I got 25. Of course, I may still just get 10. Or even fewer. 

Humility is good for the soul.

I also saw that the same personality traits that convinced me I would be a poor insurance salesman back when I tried to work with my father were interfering with my ability to campaign. I'm too reserved, too private, too reclusive; not a people person. Oh, I interact fine when I have to, but I'd rather avoid interacting to any great extent. 

I'm basically a hermit.

I also discovered how easy it would be to get drawn into the nastiness and pandering of politics.

And I realized how dead and ineffective the American Solidarity Party is in New York. After repeated attempts for the six weeks to get responses from them, I finally got contacted by a state ASP official the day before the election! Too late to do anything.

Will I run again, and make it a regular campaign rather than a quixotic write-in one? 

Not likely.

I have more important things to focus on. My faith life. My Parish. My Fraternity. My writing.

But I'm enough of a political junkie to still be hoping for 25 votes!

Pax et bonum

My Town Board Campaign

Back on September 27, I announced I was running as a write-in candidate for Gates Town Board.

Several factors led me to make this decision.

One was that the two officially announced candidates were running unopposed. They were running as Republicans with cross endorsement by the Conservative Party. But the other parties active locally  - the Democrats, the Greens, the Libertarians - didn't have anyone running. Nothing against the candidates personally, but with them running unopposed the people of Gates had no choice; that's not democracy.

I also thought that this would give me a chance to promote some of my pro-life,, environmental, and open government values.

Finally, I thought it would be a way to promote the American Solidarity Party.

My initial campaign pledges included banning Planned Parenthood from town sponsored and financed events, and preserving green space in the town. 

They now stand at:

- Banning Planned Parenthood from all town sponsored and financed events

- Passing a resolution in opposing to State Legislature efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide

- Seeking to declare Gates a Sanctuary for the Unborn, either by Board vote or through a proposal on the ballot

- Preserving or adding green space in Gates as much as possible

- Opposing the use of part of the Dolomite Forest donation for the Highway Department or as a dumping ground

- Placing a proposal on a future ballot to determine the use of the Dolomite Forest donation

- Banning the use of poisonous or carcinogenic lawn treatments in the town

- Broadcasting all town public meetings through some means such as a YouTube channel 

- Passing term limits for Town Board members 

My race is a long-shot one. But even if I don't win, these are still ideas I'd like to see implemented. My campaign will hopefully help to draw attention to these issues.

It's now been five weeks since I have announced. I've actually picked up some support. And I've been in contact with state and national officials of the American Solidarity Party. 

At this point, it's in the voters' hands. 

Pax et bonum