Nothing Says "All Saints Eve" Like Pilot Point (or not)

I’ve been thinking of some brazen way to use Halloween to promote Pilot Point.  Hey everyone else uses Halloween to promote products.  Of course, some skip right to using Christmas already, but anyway…

But I just could not think of a good way to do so.  Maybe I’m not crass enough.  More likely, an allergy attack this week has taken a lot of deviousness out of me.  (Yes, it was that bad.  But I am feeling better now.)

So I will just say . . . Have a safe, fun evening.  Watch out for kids when driving.  And have a blessed All Saints Day tomorrow.

NC Democrats Caught On Camera Encouraging Non-Citizen Voting

Yet more evidence of Democrat election fraud, urging a non-citizen to vote in North Carolina in this case.  And it is multiple Democrat campaign workers encouraging vote fraud on camera:

But I’m sure Democrat drones will rationalize this somehow.  Democrat denial runs deep . . . especially when it comes to their own crimes.

Non-citizen Voting Uncovered in Maryland

As I have personally experienced this morning, Democrat denials of their election fraud never cease.  But evidence of their fraud keeps piling up.  And the evidence is alarming indeed.

The latest comes from Maryland from the Virginia Voters Alliance:

The group’s investigation found that thousands of people in Frederick County who stated that they are not U.S. citizens on jury duty forms went on to cast votes in elections. Either they failed to tell the truth when they were summoned for jury duty, or they cast illegal votes. Both are crimes.

Please note that these thousands who either voted illegally or lied on the jury duty forms are from just one county in Maryland.  Yes, people do lie to avoid jury duty; that surely accounts for a portion of the number. Still it is safe to say that illegal non-citizen voting in Maryland is more than enough to swing a close election.

And I think I best leave it at that for now.  The implications of such massive election fraud are disturbing, to say the least.

I am a Moron and Proud of it!

Over the weekend, my novel Pilot Point got a very nice mention at my favorite blog, Ace of Spades, in their weekly book thread.  You’ll find it at the link under "Books by Morons".

Before I proceed further, I should mention that “morons” are those who frequent and comment at that blog.  It is a good epithet in this context.  Just trust me on that.

With that disclaimer, Oregon Muse posted the following on his aforesaid book thread.

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Moron commenter WannabeAnglican has self-published his first novel, Pilot Point. I'll let him tell you about it:

Pilot Point is a very Texan novel set along I-20 in West Texas and around the town of Pilot Point in North Texas. With drought, dust, cowboys, and cattle, it could be called a Western except it is set in the late 20th Century and not many get shot up.

At the same time, Pilot Point has a strong Anglican flavor, weaving The Book of Common Prayer and traditional Christian themes through the story. (And that without being heavy-handed about it. I sought to write a weighty work of literature, not a Christian tract.) Not many novels have both cowboys and Anglicanism.

So this is probably going to be the best d**n Anglican cowboy novel you'll read all year.

But wait, there's more:

I will hold the release event for Pilot Point at a GUN SHOW – at the Shiners Gun Show in Corpus Christi on November 8th. I thought that more interesting than having it at a local bookstore and a way to get the novel more directly to fellow Texans who would appreciate it. Besides, it’s a GUN SHOW!

So it looks like at least some of you Texas morons down near Corpus Christi might be able to take in a gun show and meet the author, too. That's almost a perfect day.

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Got that right!

Thanks again to Oregon Muse for the mention.

And your support is appreciated at well.  Don’t forget to “like” Pilot Point on Facebook.

And don’t forget you can get Pilot Point for as little as $2.99, or even free if you are enrolled in certain Amazon programs. 

You know what to do.

Downfall XXV: WSJ/NBC Poll Has GOP Up 11 Points

A report that a WSJ/NBC poll had Republicans up 11 points “among likely voters on the question of which party should control Congress” seemed such an outlier I had to check it out for myself.  You see it is good for Republicans to be even or barely ahead on such “generic” congressional ballot questions.  They are hardly ever way ahead.  And WSJ/NBC polls are so skewed toward Democrats, they have become a bad joke to me.

But it is true.  Further, a clear majority of likely voters, 52%, want Republicans to control Congress according to this WSJ/NBC poll.

To get to the point, this points to a Republican “wave” election as big or bigger than 2010.  Seeing this and a number of individual Senate polls, I think the only way the Democrats even come close to holding the Senate is massive luck or massive fraud or both.  And that is possible but . . .  unless something awful happens for Republicans, Obama will become either a very lame duck or a dictator with little support in Congress in ten days.

But do NOT get complacent.   This election is too important for that.

Additional color on this poll may be found here.

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Downfall is an ongoing series anticipating and tracking the possible self-destruction of Obama.

The first post may be found here.  The series may be found here.

Democrat Election Fraud Already Underway, UPDATED

One reason Election Day has become Election Month in some states is to give Democrats more opportunity to commit election fraud.  And given that almost three-quarters of statewide races with margins of under 1% have been won by Democrats since 1998, it appears election fraud is one thing Democrats can do very well.

And, sure enough, election fraud is already underway in Illinois, where the sitting Democrat Guv happens to be in trouble.  A Republican candidate for state representative, Jim Moynihan, while early voting found that the machine kept casting his Republican votes for Democrats. 

Everyone was very gracious all around and supposedly fixed the problem.  But how many GOP votes were cast for Democrats before the problem was discovered?

But Cook County is right on it.  Yes, sir:

Cook County Board of Elections Deputy Communications Director Jim Scalzitti, told Illinois Watchdog, the machine was taken out of service and tested.

“This was a calibration error of the touch-screen on the machine,” Scalzitti said. “When Mr. Moynihan used the touch-screen, it improperly assigned his votes due to improper calibration.”

Ah.  Well I’m sure it was an *honest* “calibration error.”

Democrat election fraud is also surely way under in North Carolina to re-elect Demorat Kay Hagan.  Illegal aliens have already helped out by registering to vote there.

But a state that may outdo them all on election fraud this year is Colorado.  Both Democrat Senator Mark Uterus Udall and the gun-grabbing Democrat Governor John Hickenlooper are in trouble.  And the Guv and his Demorat Legistature have changed the election laws so that they practically invite election fraud.  Mailing out ballots to everyone and same-day registration stand out.  It is safe to say that efforts to steal the election are well underway there.

One Coloradan, Sarah Hoyt, has just written with eloquent anger on what Democrats are doing to Colorado.  And she says what others, even yours truly, is hesitant to say:

Will we tolerate this?  For how long?  Why doesn’t anyone else realize that under the cover of seeming openness they’re making our votes mean nothing?

And why don’t the clever fools in the Democratic Party realize that when you block the ballot box, people will come at you another way?

True, the country has long reacted with remarkable peace after stolen elections, even after the stolen 2008 Senate race in Minnesota that “elected” Al Franken and ended up giving Obamacare the needed 60^th vote.  (By the way, Minnesota, are you really going to re-elect that fraudulent turd?)

But it is presumption for Democrats to think they can keep stealing elections with little price to pay, especially when their fraud furthers tyranny.  And that’s probably all I should say . . . for now.

Hoyt has a simple but to the point remedy for the present:

I’m not calling for revolution.  I’m hoping very much we can avoid it.  I’m exhorting those of you in CO and similarly blinkered states to vote and to vote Republican . . . while we can still turn these election rules around.  And do it before they become cemented in place. Even if we have to hold the squishy Republicans’ feet to the fire.

Now I am not thrilled with the Republican Party.  And I have voted third-party on occasion and will do so again.  But Hoyt is right.  For all their faults, most Republican officials seek to further the integrity of elections through Voter ID and other measures, and they oppose fraud enabling such as same-day registration.

And we must have legitimate elections.  The current toxic mixture of tyranny and stolen elections cannot be allowed to continue if we wish to continue as a nation with a semblance of freedom and the rule of law.

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MORE: Deroy Murdock gives an idea on how massive election fraud is likely to be in Colorado due to mail-in ballots.

“An Extraordinary Synod, Indeed”

You may have seen my take on the recently concluded Extraordinary Synod, which is that Pope Francis is acting too much like a Pope Rowan and is not to be trusted.  Harsh, yes.  And, as I stated then, I am among those who hope my take proves to be mistaken.

But for a much lighter, probably more perceptive, and downright funny take on the Extraordinary Synod, I point you to George Weigel for a short and excellent read.

It is too short to excerpt much, but this was my favorite part:

2. The 2014 Synod demonstrated the extraordinary self-confidence of bishops from dying local churches who nonetheless feel quite comfortable giving pastoral advice to local churches that are either thriving or holding their own. Many northern European bishops and theologians (and bishop-theologians) acted as if the blissful years when they set the agenda for the world Church at Vatican II had returned. That these same bishops and theologians and bishop-theologians have presided over the collapse of western European Catholicism in the intervening five decades seemed not to matter to them in the slightest. Happy days were here again.

Yes, the similarities with liberal bishops in the Anglican Communion are hard to miss - even through the laughter.

Book Review: Seeking the Secret Place - The Spiritual Formation of C. S. Lewis

I’ve been reading a lot from and about C. S. Lewis this year.  I think Alister McGrath’s recent excellent biography C. S. Lewis - A Life and coming across two small out-of-print books by Lewis in Oxford may have prompted this direction.  In any case, when I heard of this book, Seeking the Secret Place, about his spiritual formation, about the influences on his growth as a Christian, I knew I had to read it as well.  (So, yes, the book has been out for ten years, but it is new to me.)

Not only was I not disappointed, Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C. S. Lewis exceeded my expectations. Lyle Dorsett backs his book with extensive research.  As Director of the Wade Center at Wheaton College, he had unusual opportunity to travel, interview, and dig into a treasure trove of primary sources.  He particularly made use of Lewis’ correspondence.

The result is a very readable book that covers some lesser known aspects of C. S. Lewis' personal life and spiritual growth.  Lewis’ relationship with Father Walter Frederick Adams of the Cowley Fathers is an important focus as is Lewis’ faithfulness in his sacrificial commitment to respond thoughtfully to letters, even to fan mail and to those asking a bit much of his time and effort.

I must emphasize the book is not only of historic interest, although it certainly is that.  It can be very helpful to those seeking to grow as Christians themselves. I personally find both the guidance given to Lewis and the guidance he gave to others very instructive and edifying.  Further, I am already using excerpts from Seeking the Secret Place in teaching others.

So Seeking the Secret Place is a book to read both by those interested in the life and spiritual growth of C. S. Lewis and those concerned about their own spiritual formation.  If one finds oneself in both categories, it is then a must-read indeed.

Idaho Ministers Threatened With Jail For Not Performing Gay Weddings

As Maetenloch over at Ace of Spaces puts it:

Don't worry - allowing gay marriage will never mean that pastors must perform gay marriages or face prison. Oh wait never mind.

Two Idaho ministers have been told by the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho that they must perform gay “weddings” in their marriage chapel or face jail and/or ruinous fines, up to $1000 per day.

Strange, we were told that warnings about attacks on religious freedom were scare tactics.  Now that the warnings are coming true, we are told our warnings are whining.  And we were told the movement toward gay rights and same-sex “marriage” was all about “tolerance.”

We were told lies.

You might be a Texan author if… you release your novel at a GUN SHOW!

You might be browsing to this post wondering who would be so Texan – or so crazy – as to release their novel at a gun show.  And the answer is . . . yours truly.

I will hold the release event for my novel Pilot Point at a table at the Corpus Christi Al Amin Shiners Gun Show on Saturday, November 8^th.  It is located at 2001 Suntide Road, just off I-37 in Corpus.  Look for the building in the back.  Doors open at 9am, and I will try to be there all day.

It is a fun gun show, by the way, with a lot more than guns for sale.  I’ve visited it and lightened my wallet there several times.

Why am I releasing Pilot Point at a gun show?  One reason is I want to take my novel to people who I think would like it.  With Pilot Point being a very Texan novel and gun show attendees (like me) being very Texan, I think it a good match.  And I think this a better and more interesting release than a traditional book signing at a bookstore.  I intend to do those, too, but I thought a gun show would be much better place to release Pilot Point with a bang. (Sorry.  I couldn’t resist.)

Besides, it’s a GUN SHOW!

Now if only there was a gun show held at an Anglican church.  Remember that Pilot Point has a strong Anglican flavor, too.  Oh, well.

By the way, a reminder that Pilot Point is already available in print and Kindle form.  (Yes, book releases, like store “Grand Openings”, sometimes occur after a book is available.) I know not everyone can make it to South Texas for this event. ;)

I will say more between now and November 8^th, so stay tuned!  And don’t forget to “like” Pilot Point on Facebook.

The Wisdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch

Tonight is the Eve of the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch.  He was the Bishop of Antioch in the early 2^nd Century and, during an intense persecution of Christians in that city, was condemned to death by wild beasts, to be executed at Rome.

And we do not know much else about him except from a number of letters he wrote to churches as he was being taken to his sentence.

But what letters they are!  Ignatius’ heart and pugnaciously joyful personality shine through these letters.  Impending martyrdom did not discourage him but emboldened him.  He even looked forward with eagerness to “get to God” through his grisly martyrdom in the Coliseum.

And his letters are full of wisdom, particularly in how churches should relate to their leaders.  He also took aim at heresies, particularly Docetism.

I wish to conclude by quoting a statement of his about heresies in his Letter to the Trallians.

[Heretics] mingle Jesus Christ with their teachings just to gain your confidence under false pretenses.  It is as if they were giving a deadly poison mixed with honey and wine, with the result that the unsuspecting victim gladly accepts it and drinks down death with fatal pleasure.

And so it remains today.  The inventors of just about every false religion and heresy, even if mad and blind, still realize that the person of Jesus Christ is important and attractive.  Even in their delusions, they are compelled to answer his question, “Who do you say that I am?”  So they include in their falsehoods what I call a “token Jesus.”  They give lip service to Jesus to add attractiveness and legitimacy to their false religion.  But it is not the real Jesus Christ, but a supposed Jesus who is not the Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  And, yes, the Jesus of “mainline” libchurchers is such a token Jesus.

Which St. Ignatius so well warned against some 1900 years ago.  God’s Holy Church does well to remember his courage and wisdom and to thank the Lord for his teaching and godly example.

Houston Pink Shirt PR Lies

Lesbian Houston Mayor Annise Parker and her fellow pink shirts discovered yesterday that Americans and Texans do not take kindly to government bullying of churches.  So the Mayor and her City Attorney backed away from their own actions, claiming they did not know the subpoenas were that broad, that wasn’t their intent, they had been misinterpreted, etc.

But there is one problem.  They lied.

“The intent, [City Attorney] Feldman said, was simply to get all communications between pastors about the signature gathering instructions, a key part of a lawsuit opponents have brought against the city. Critics filed suit after Feldman announced they had failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum, claiming the city attorney illegally inserted himself in the signature verification process.”

That’s a blatant lie. The communications sought were not just about “signature gathering instructions.” They were, instead, an attempt to gather materials that would expose what the mayor and her cronies obviously consider to be the Neanderthal, homophobic attitudes of people who supported the petition. If that was not the case, why ask for stuff like “All speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity,” or “all documents and communications…[dealing with] the topics of equal rights, civil rights, homosexuality, or gender identity”?

Then there is this tweet from the Mayor’s keyboard itself on exactly 11:12pm Tuesday night, the night before yesterday’s backtracking.

If the 5 pastors used pulpits for politics, their sermons are fair game. Were instructions given on filling out anti-HERO petition?-A
— Annise Parker (@AnniseParker) October 15, 2014

In case she or her staff deletes it, it reads, "If the 5 pastors used pulpits for politics, their sermons are fair game.  Were instructions given on filling out anti-HERO petition?-A"

So on Tuesday night, Mayor Parker is defending going after sermons. But on Wednesday, she did not really know about going after sermons.  Uh, huh.

But I’m nit-picking.  Besides, it is nice to see the pink shirt bullies nervous for a change.

Houston: Pink Shirts in Power

I am among those who have warned of the totalitarian aims of the gay activist crowd (not to be confused with gays who just want to live peaceably and mind their own business) and their allies.  Now Houston is providing a big “I told you so” moment.

Under lesbian Mayor Annise Parker, the City of Houston passed a so-called equal rights non-discrimination ordinance which quickly became infamous as the “bathroom bill” allowing the mentally ill and perverts to use bathrooms assigned to the opposite gender.  But the bill contained other, less publicized, problematic provisions, including some seen as endangering freedom of speech and religion.

Citizens petitioned to get the ordinance overturned or at least put up to a referendum, and their petitions got over 50,000 signatures when only 17,269 valid signatures were needed.  But the lesbian mayor and her city attorney threw out the petition anyway.

Once again, pink shirts and Leftists only like democracy when they get their way.

Opponents of the ordinance rightly sued the city to overturn their anti-democratic coup.  And now the city has doubled down – and justified fears about freedom of religion and speech – by demanding to see the contents of sermons from numerous pastors.

I have to admit when I first saw the story about sermons being subpoenaed, it was from a sensationalistic source, and it sounded over the top - which it is in its own Constitution-trashing way. I did not give it much credence and moved on.  But this is coming from a number of responsible sources now.

So although the pace of pink shirt attacks on freedom is surprising even me, I can still say, “I told you so.” Pink shirts and their lib/left allies have a totalitarian streak a mile wide, and the more they get power, as in Houston, the more their streak will show.  

For then they will slide off the mask of "tolerance" and inform you that getting their way and putting you under their thumb is so much more important than your trivial Constitutional rights.

Pope Rowan?

I will let Romish bloggers wade through the details.  But Pope Francis’ Extraordinary Synod on the Family has issued a statement - a Relatio is the Popish name for it – that among other problematic things recommends that gay orientation is to be “valued” in the church.

I am sorely tempted to insist my still randy heterosexual orientation be valued, too.  But I will instead point out a pattern I have noticed.  In this particular case, orthodox Roman Catholic bloggers have run to their keyboards to say this is not as bad as it looks at first glance.  They have said the Relatio is not a final statement. (True.) That there may be a misunderstanding due to translation.  That press reports are wrong.  That the statement does not reflect the views of all the bishops. (True.)

But this is not the first time I’ve seen this sort of episode.  Not only have we seen this under Francis, we saw it again and again under the Archbishopric of Rowan Williams, to wit:

1. Rowan/Francis or allies act or speak in a manner that undermines orthodoxy or the orthodox.

2. Orthodox who project their wishes onto Rowan/Francis and have a reservoir of good will toward him spin the act/statement into something not so bad.  Moreover, they may read something positive between the lines or behind the scenes. (And I recall that I did this myself in more hopeful days for the Anglican Communion. - ed.)

And that Rowan emitted a lot of fog and that Francis speaks freely and off-the-collar in unofficial settings certainly gives room for the orthodox to create positive interpretations and calming disclaimers.  Moreover, Rowan and Francis are likeable personalities.  Heck, I still like Rowan Williams in a way even as I deplore what he did to the Anglican Communion.  It is natural for Christians of good will to give them the benefit of the doubt and more.

Further neither Rowan nor Francis discourage(d) the orthodox in their wishful spin.  They may even make noises to encourage it.

3. Rinse.  Repeat.

4. But, alas, the passage of time and/or a more final act/statement dashes the hopes of the orthodox.  It turns out the leadership of Rowan/Francis really was as bad as feared with distressing consequences for the church.  And all that orthodox spin is exposed as wishful thinking indeed.

With Rowan, it got to this point by Lambeth 2008, if not before, when he invited all the consecrators of Gene Robinson and turned Lambeth into a useless indaba session rightly boycotted by over 200 bishops.

We have not yet gotten to such a point (i.e. 4.) with Francis.  Nor do I ever expect 200 bishops to boycott an invitation from him or any similar RC split.  But I see the same pattern with him and the orthodox as I saw with Rowan Williams.  And I do expect that one day Francis or a gathering under him will act or speak in such as way and with enough finality that it will gravely wound the orthodoxy and the orthodox of the Roman Catholic Church.

So forgive me if I call him Pope Rowan. 

I do honestly hope I am proven to be mistaken and unfair in so doing.  I pray Francis does not prove himself worthy to be called much worse.

200

The Massacre of Kobane by ISIS is well underway (And I must warn that the article at the link is difficult reading.), and the Massacre of Baghdad may be coming.

And Obama’s negligence in preventing the ISIS slaughter is close to unforgivable.  First, against sage advice and requests from Iraq, he refused to leave a remnant U. S. force in Iraq.  Then he was slow to respond to ISIS, calling it “Jayvee” even after warnings it was far more dangerous than that.  Then he was very slow, at best, in arming our best allies in the region, the Kurds.

Under Obama, it is far better to be an enemy of the United States than a friend.

Then, when Obama finally, for political reasons, decided to approve air strikes against ISIS, they were underwhelming and ineffective, doing virtually nothing to stop the advance of those butchers.

And now what does Obama do while the Kurdish city of Kobane is paying the price in blood for his negligence?  While the Massacre of Kobane is in progress?

He plays the 200th round of golf of his presidency.

It’s not funny anymore.

Pilot Point is now on Kindle!

Over the weekend, my novel Pilot Point became available on Kindle.  I decided to put the e-book version on that platform to greatly broaden its availability.

And count the ways Pilot Point is available on Kindle!

1. You may purchase the novel for only $2.99.

2. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited (or are trying a free trial of the same), you already have access to Pilot Point.  Enjoy.

3. If you have Amazon Prime and a Kindle device, you may “borrow” my novel through the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.

4. . . . Well, for now, I’ll just say that’s for starters.  And if you don’t wish to own a Kindle, do be aware that there is a Kindle app that works on most devices.  And I’ve read that you don’t even need the app, that you can use a number of browsers to read Pilot Point up there on The Cloud somewhere.  But I’m cloudphobic so I’ll leave that up to you.

Both the print and Kindle versions of Pilot Point can be accessed at Amazon.  If you want to go directly to the Kindle page for Pilot Point, go here.

I will say this experience is bringing home to me how the book business has been revolutionized for the good of both readers and authors. But I’ll save that topic for another day.

In the meantime, don’t forget to “like” the Facebook page for Pilot Point.  Thanks for your support.

The God Who Visits Us (a meditation from the Gospel for Trinity 16)

You never know what detail of liturgy and worship is going to impress itself upon you.  This past Sunday, the 16^th Sunday after Trinity, it was the conclusion of the Gospel from Luke 7 after Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead at the gates of Nain:

And they glorified God, saying . . . God hath visited his people.

And in the remainder of the service and since then, it has occurred to me how in manifold ways, God visits his people: in the Incarnation and first and second Advents of Christ, in Christ being present in the Holy Communion, wherever two or three are gathered in his name, in numerous episodes recorded in the Bible and in numerous answers to prayer today, and more.

We tend to think God’s default relation to us is very distant.  But really his default relation to us is very present, as in the Garden of Eden when he was “walking in the garden” to converse with the first people and in his coming kingdom in which “the dwelling place of God is with man.” (Rev. 21:3)  This present fallen world in which God seems distant is the aberration – an aberration to be done away.

But even during this temporary distorted time of this fallen world, God remains the same – He is the God who visits us, the God who is “very present” as Psalm 46 reminds us:

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Just a Coincidence

Hmm.  So - much like the last election year, 2012 - the unemployment rate takes a sudden drop in the last report before this election.  How convenient for Democrats….

But I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.  And if you dare to think there is even a smidgen of corruption here, you must be racist.